Gwen and the Jackson Twin's Quest
by Ferrywings60
Summary: REDONE! A story of Gwen Clayborn and her quest with Percy and Annabeth's twin sons. A PJO fanfiction, but with future generations NOT really the main characters. They're in there, but they're not the main focus. If the idea doesn't appeal to you, sorry, just don't read. Read and enjoy! :) Rated T for language, violence, and a few upsetting scenes
1. Chapter 1: A toothpick blows up a librar

~Percy Jackson Fanfiction~

**A/N: Hey Guys! :D So I'm REALLY sorry I haven't posted anything new. I've been super busy, have had so much school work, been swamped with other things and I haven't even been able to get on my computer! Now this is a NON NORMAL Percy Jackson fic, meaning it's not of the main characters… mostly. I wanted to do something with their kids and that era, but the originals will be in here. Don't fret **** No The Lost Hero or any of those books chains involved. I wanna keep it strictly original. **** As some of you know, this was a story before, but it was crap and I hadn't edited it. So I fixed it a bit and now I'm reposting it **** Enjoy **

**Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, so that obviously means I don't own Percy Jackson. I also don't own world record books or the pink-panther or the Price is Right or Jaws.**

Chapter 1: A toothpick blows up a library

"Gwen… Gwen! GWEN!"

I jerked awake, my name pulling me out of my dream, and I sat bolt upright. My head made a sickening thud as it contacted with my ceiling, my bunk bed being way too tall for my liking, and I grumbled to myself as I rubbed the now bright red mark. Yeah, that's a great way to start the morning.

A pair of laughing voices sounded off towards my right, one of them most likely the moron that decided to wake me up, and I turned to check what time it was. Six a.m., great…time to get up.

I should've been happy. It was the last day of school and summer was just around the corner. I was going to stay at my best friends' house tonight and they were taking me to their beach house the next day. It was a much better start to summer than staying at my foster home and moping about, eating Doritos and complaining about the house being too cold, but I couldn't help but feel a little nervous. I was still in the same school, I had been all year, and I was just waiting for something unusual and strange to happen.

I'll be perfectly honest with you; I haven't stayed in the same school for an entire year before… ever. I know I know, it sounds bad, but it wasn't my fault most times. I don't have this bizarre desire to get expelled from every school I've ever attended(if I did I'd probably already have called the mental hospital and ordered an extra large cushion room), but I always manage to find trouble even when I was on my best behavior.

What are some examples you ask? Let me think… oh yeah! Like the time I was in chemistry freshman year, minding my own business, when a giant shadow passed over the window. Being my ADHD self, I had to lean over the counter and look out the window, seeing the shadow of some sort of giant flying lion before it disappeared. It wasn't my original intention to cause the sodium to fall in the sink full of water, but if you don't enjoy smelling like burnt clothing and hearing explosions, I don't suggest mixing them.

Or like the time I was seven and this city council representative came to our class. I don't remember hitting him with the stapler, he seemed kind of nice to me first, but none the less, I got kicked out for puncturing the arm of a representative. That man wasn't very happy with me after that, spewing words of crazy and deranged children, and I could've sworn I saw a flash of fangs as he left. But I must have been imagining things since I am a 'delusional little monster' or something along those lines.

So yeah… I'm not a bad kid, just a kid with bad luck. More times than not, everything gets blamed on me, but I've grown use to it. I mean, wouldn't you be too? I was just waiting to see what was going to happen to me this year, and since it was the last day, I was a little worried about how bad my awful luck could've piled up over the whole time. Oh well, it would be a heck of an adventure… whatever it was.

I turned to look in the direction of my door, a scowl present on my face, and a small smile broke my hard glare as my eyes landed on my two favorite twins in the world.

Trent and Cato Jackson.

Trent stood on my latter; his cropped short black hair jelled up off his forehead and his intense grey eyes shimmering with amusement. He wore a red WATERLAND t-shirt that fit his shoulder well and a pair of dark brown cargo shorts paired with his black converse. His brother, with his practically buzzed short blonde hair and his sea-green eyes which darted everywhere to take things in, stood beside him just barely looking up into the bunk. With a tight black WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT sleeveless shirt and light grey jeans, Cato moved down to my desk under my bed. He was probably rummaging through all my stuff, as usual, and I could only roll my eyes. That boy needed to learn how to keep his hands to himself.

Trent and Cato were my best friends in the whole world. They're two of the funniest people I've ever met, they have ADHD and dyslexia like I do, and to top it all off they've switched schools every year just like me. Granit they were mentally insane just like me… but let's not go into that. This is our third school attending together, their house near all three and my switching foster homes staying the same area, and I couldn't be happier to know the trouble makers.

I had met them freshman year, both being new to the school like me, and I knew we'd be instant friends judging by how all three of us got sent out into the hall at the same time. We all had similar pasts, mainly about school and how we ALWAYS get in trouble, and ever since these boys never left my side. Their parents were nice enough to give me a ride to school with them (my apartment being _only_ ten miles from the school), and I always thanked them profusely for the ride even if they told me not to. I was a trouble maker, not a brat.

Mr. and Mrs. Jackson were the nicest two parents you will ever meet in your entire life time ever. I felt the extra ever was necessary for my point. They never stressed about the boys getting kicked out from school, acting almost like it's happened to them before. The twins were both smart (getting the brains mainly from their mom. Go figure, she was an architect while Mr. Jackson worked at the aquatic center). If they ever started struggling because of their disabilities, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson didn't get upset or disappointed in them. Instead, they helped the twins to the best of their abilities and made sure they understand what's confusing.

I always wished they were my parents, wanting to be in their family, and I felt like I actually was more times than not. They always let me come over, they never said no when I needed a ride, they took me on family vacations even if it was across the country, and they even put up with all my sarcasm (which I was grateful for). I loved the Jacksons, and I couldn't wait to spend most of my summer with them.

"Mornin' sleeping beauty," Trent joked, leaning against the railing, "And how are we this fine day?"

"I'd be better if my head didn't feel like it was run over by a semi," I replied, scooting towards the latter, my head still grumbling angrily "but other than that I'm just peachy."

Trent laughed at my sarcasm, hopping down so I could head towards the bathroom, and he shoved his hands in his pockets. Cato was still looking through everything, my awake figure not stopping him from running his fingers all over my stuff, but his voice carried into the bathroom even if it sounded distracted.

"Gweny," he started, using the old nickname he gave me forever ago, "how long are you doing to be?"

Yeah that's a great question to ask someone who just woke up and nearly broke their forehead open.

"I'll come out after at least four days." I called through the door, turning on the water for the shower.

"So about fifteen minutes?"

I smiled and didn't reply as I slipped into the shower. My friend was so smart sometimes.

I always took quick showers, never feeling the need to stand in the hot water and waste it like most teenagers, and in a madder of ten minutes, I was perfectly clean and my hair was dry. I needed to be in the world records book, I was officially becoming pro at this.

I stepped out in a towel (no the boys aren't still in there… pervs) and saw a pile of clothes sitting on my desk. Everything in it was perfectly folded holding a t-shirt, a pair of black skinny jeans, socks, and the perfect jewelry to go with the outfit on top. Trent usually set out my clothes, besides my underwear and stuff… that'd be weird if he put those out too, I'd get a little concerned for his masculinity, and he always picked the best clothing for that day. I didn't know how he did it, but I didn't question it either. Some people were just good like that, while other like me, frankly, sucked at it.

I got dressing, seeing he left me the white San Francisco shirt we got when we visited Mrs. Jackson's father last summer, and I glanced at my desk while I tried not to skewer my ear with my ear ring.

A solid oak desk attached to the base of my bunk bed, my desk was covered with pencils and paper, all of my art stuff littering everywhere, making a cleanish mess I reminded myself to deal with later. I had pictures on the corkboard above the desk, all taken by my old Polaroid camera I got when my dad passed away, and I smiled at a few of them. The three of us in California, New York, D.C., Missouri, and so many other places it was hard to keep track. Their parents take us to all the places they've been to as kids and teens, never really clarifying why they were there, but it didn't really matter. Every trip was awesome and remember able. Plus the souvenirs that came with each trip weren't that bad either.

I grabbed my backpack, flipping off the single over head light (which resulted in me stumbling and trying to make it out of my bedroom in the pitch black), and I successfully left my bedroom without even a bumped shin.

I crept towards the kitchen, holding my breath and trying to be like the pink-panther, but it didn't work as her scratch voice clawed at my ears, cluing me to the fact I'd fail at being a ninja.

"Gwen! Where is your lazy butt going?!"

Ms. Mendilave.

Ms. Mendilave was a batty old woman who had been divorced five times, been evicted twice, and then for some odd reason that no one can explain, decided to become a foster parent. She was mean, wrinkly, and just plain ugly. She had a thick white unibrow and liver spots on her balding head. She always wore her thick, square glasses like a librarian and shook her finger at me disappointedly, as if I forgot to return one of her books. She was short, like 4'7, and particularly round. Trent always described her as a fat oompa loompa that aged way too quickly, and I couldn't help but think that description was perfect for the woman.

However, that wasn't the worse thing about her. She always, God only knows why, smelt like vegetable compost and rose fragranced baby power. Whenever you go too close to her, the smell would flood your nose, burning and making you want to gag. But when she actually TRIED to put perfume on, her smell went from that to a burnt flower smell that was so sweet it made you never want to touch sugar again. No… unfortunately I'm not joking. And you wondered why I never want to be home? It was like doing a face plant in a rose bed after you put moldy tomatoes and burnt pie crust into the soil.

Unfortunately I won't be switched into a different house any time soon. I'm too old for most families who want to adopt and plus, I'm seventeen years old. I'll be graduating next year and then I can leave. The agency thinks Ms. Oompa Loompa is the sweetest lady in the world, since she always put on an act and gave them cookies that I'm convinced have hypnotizing powers in them, so they're no help. So my only true option (besides running away and becoming a cards dealer in Vegas) was to duke it out until I had my diploma (possibly) in one hand and my suitcase in the other.

I stopped right in front of the door and sighed. It took a lot of will power to not answer her stupid question with _I'm leaving to fulfill my dream of being a hotdog vender _or _I'm joining the British Army and coming back to overthrow America_.

"I'm going to school Ms. Mendilave." I grumbled, not looking into the living room where her fat butt was parked on the couch. I could hear the TV set blasting _The Price it Right_ and smell her dreadful scent from twenty feet away. I gripped the bridge of my nose in annoyance as I waited for her reply as I tried not to punch the wall or make a quick getaway to the door. She replied slowly, like the words were begging not to enter her nasty ears and old brain, then refusing to come out when she formed her unhelpful reply.

"Bring me back more spiders and canned ham on your way home!" She shrieked, her little grubby hand hit the arm of the couch with a soft thud.

My whole body shuddered in disgust and I had trouble not gagging.

That was the other thing with Ms. Mendilave, she refused, and I mean _refused,_ to eat like a normal person. Her parents raised her up eating bug and other gross things I couldn't even think about, being from another country and all… I still don't know where, and she always made _me_ go and get her nasty food. Canned ham and Twinkies I could handle, but crickets and spiders were a completely different nightmare just by themselves.

Spiders were even worse. She ate them a lot, like so much I keep looking to see if she's sprouted six more legs to match her spider treats, and she forced me to get them every time, claiming she was too old and weak to get them.

Yes because driving to a store that's three blocks away requires so much effort.

Before my dad passed away when I was seven, our doctor had diagnosed me with a mild case of Arachnophobia. I don't know how you get a mild case (I thought there were only mild cases of chicken pocks), but I guess I'm a lot more special than I had originally thought.

Anyway, when the Wicked Witch of the Wonka (another nickname given by Trent) first started forcing me to go out and buy them, I couldn't do it. I'd beg her and plead with her, but she just called me a baby and threw Twinkies at me until I left. I eventually had Trent buy them after I met him and Cato, Trent not caring but Cato sharing my fear, but I still hated having to have those things in the house. It always felt like they were watching me and trying to get me, even if she kept them in a locked box with tiny slits. They're pretty big spiders in case you were wondering.

I shouldered my back pack and disputed, "I won't even be coming home tonight or for the next two weeks." I had told her about my trip, and there was no way she'd stop me from going on it. I didn't care how many creepy crawlies she wanted

"Well you have to come home and pack don't you?"

Damn… she got me there. She was smarter than she looked.

I sighed, "Fine. I'll get you some."

I trudged out, not wanting to argue with the old woman, slamming the door after I caught her mutter, "Ungrateful little brat."

I opened the back door of the Jackson's car, a shiny navy SUV, and I slid in leaking irritation. I really hope I don't turn out like that when I'm old and lazier than I am now.

Trent and Cato looked me over, my eyes glaring at the tan car floor, but under the anger I felt sparks of unwanted fear. I hated living there, I hated doing things that were never appreciated, but most of all, I hated the fact I had to do thing I was terrified of without getting to have a say against them.

The only noise in the whole car as Mr. Jackson pulled away from the car was the radio softly playing, the sweet sound filling my ears, and I leaned back and grunted unhappily. I don't think it's health to be this grumpy over your house.

"You look pale." Trent pointed out, poking the side of my face. Thanks buddy, that really makes me feel better. Did I mention my friends are special?

I swatted his hand away and retorted, "The one-brow wonder wants me to buy her more food."

The boys both shuddered, knowing how she ate.

"Why is that so bad?"

I looked into the rear view mirror and met a pair of older sea-green eyes.

Mr. Jackson looked at me through the mirror, curiosity written all over his face. His hair was a little long and shaggy, the black color matching with a perfectly trimmed goatee. He looked around his twenties, even though I knew he was in the early thirties, and he wore basic jeans and orange T-shirt since it was Friday. He was handsome, sure, but I thought his wife looked much better with their age. Both of their skin was flawless and practically wrinkle free, but Mrs. Jackson had this air about her that showed who was in charge between the two of them. In other words we knew who was wearing the pants and who was cleaning them.

Mrs. Jackson had curly blonde hair, not the weird and ridiculous curly that was on certain Barbie dolls, but the flat and beautiful curly that every girl with straight hair wanted. Trent had inherited her eyes; that brilliant grey that made you speechless and shut you up quick if they were angry, and they always glistened with emotion. She wore an outfit similar to Mr. Jackson's, jeans and an orange T-shirt, and she held Mr. Jackson's free hand as he drove.

The deal with the orange shirt was after their family vacation, all the Jackson's went to a summer camp, the twins enrolled in it and their parents like counselors there. They had told me about it, but I've never been there. I didn't ask to go nor did I really care if they wanted me to go or not. Every family needed their own thing, and if that camp was it, then they could have it all they want without me weaseling my nose into it. Plus I know everyone needs a little Gwen-less time, even if I'm awesome.

I looked at Mr. Jackson.

"She eats spiders."

"WHAT!?" The adults simultaneously cried out, Mrs. Jackson turning and looking at me horrified from the passenger's seat. Mrs. Jackson hated spiders just as much as me, and I saw the fear and disbelief in her eyes. I loved it when I told people that. They either looked at me like I was high or like I was from a different planet.

I simply nodded.

"Eats them like they're candy."

Half the car shuddered as we kept driving, Mrs. Jackson turning back and gripping Mr. Jackson's hand, like she remembered something awful with spiders. I wouldn't blame her though; those little nasties give me the shivers.

I turned to Trent.

"Can you-"

"We'll get them before we go and get you packed up."

I felt the sigh leave me, a smile spread across my face, and I practically rejoiced, "Thank you." They may be special, but at least my friends always had my back.

We got to school in about ten minutes, the traffic making it slow but Mr. Jackson's mumbled cursing making it entertaining, and we all filed out of the back. Finally, the last day of school. School usually felt like a Mario hammer slamming against my forehead, but today if felt like an ice pack… ya know with a hand grenade attached. I had to stay on my toes, I couldn't get distracted. Being on my best behavior was my goal for the day.

"You guys be careful alright?" Mrs. Jackson stuck her head out the window, "and boys _please_ try not to destroy anything today."

The twins smirked evil but nodded.

"Sure thing mom." They simultaneously confirmed, waving at their parents as they headed towards school. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, that was believable. I made a mental note to teach the boys how to lie later, seeing as they needed more help than I originally thought.

"I'll keep them in check." I reassured her, smiling softly and both parents visually relaxed.

Mr. Jackson nodded, "Thanks Gwen. We'll pick you all up after school."

I waved as their car pulled away, and then turning back and catching up to the boys.

The three of us walked into our first period class, our third period class being the only one different schedule wise, and we took our seats. I glanced out the window and looked towards the New York streets, catching glimpse of beautiful trees splashed randomly behind speeding cars with the occasional fat jogger (who wasn't running for his health, but running because he liked it. Like we'd accept that). I sighed, pulling out my notebook and pencil out. Class would start in about three minutes, and judging by the fact we had a substitute for the last day, we weren't doing anything fun in science.

"Pst, Gwen," Trent whispered, leaning over towards, ignoring the sub's looks and kids walking in, "Can we mess with the sub?" His goofy grin made me smile along with him, taking a look at the sub.

A chill jerked up my spine as soon as my eyes landed on his figure, and I stared at him. Now there are creepy people, there are sketchy people, then there's an unhealthy combination of both. This man was both on many levels of the scale.

For starters, he was huge. So tall he would have to bend down just to fit through doorways. He had this scraggily hair that was dark as night and stuck out every which way, like a Wooly Willy toy gone horribly wrong. His beard was rough looking too, dirty and misshapen, and it held the unpleasant black color. His eyes were hollow, glimpses of pain lurking in them, and his skin was pale. He was thin, his suit barely fitting on his scrawny figure, and his eyes were trained on… well me. There was something else about him that I hadn't notice before. A help dog sat at his side, its breed looking like a grey hound mixed with a Doberman, and its eyes looked as if they had a faintly red glow to them. Wow, I really needed to work on my over active imagination. It was getting a little out of control.

The bell rang and I looked back at Trent. He was still grinning like an idiot, and I frowned. We couldn't mess with this dude, he looked too much like one of those secret murderers that go into schools and pull a random chainsaw.

"No, let's leave this one alone." I suggested, leaning back and sitting in my seat, my body not relaxing in the slightest. Something was up, and the small grin he had on his face as kids filled in didn't help my nerves either.

Trent didn't look happy about it, a small frown replacing the smile, but he didn't argue and just sat back in his seat.

"Hello class," the man began in a dry emotionless voice, the smile disappearing as soon as he started talking, "I am your Substitute, Mr. T. Whyus."

He grabbed chalk and wrote his name on the board. By the way he said it, you'd think Whyus, but when he actually wrote it on the board, it was Yus. Almost like he was texting someone the question _Y us?_ Which when knowing my class was a possibility for most substitutes.

I stared at the board, zoning out as he started speaking about the end of the year and how kids were so ungrateful for the break they got, whining like most subs do, when a piece of paper skidded to a holt on my desk. It was folded into fourths, and I opened it careful not to let Mr. Yus the killer substitute catch me.

_Ποιος είναι αυτός ο τύπος? Και τι στο καλό είναι με το σκυλί?_

I smiled at Trent's note, throwing him the smile which he returned, and I started to reply.

The twins and I found out something quiet odd about ourselves that we haven't told anyone about. We couldn't read English to save our lives, dyslexia being a real pain in the mule, but for some odd reason, ancient Greek can to us like it was the easiest thing in the world. I think the boys told their parents at one point in time, but I never asked. They never said anything about it, so I guess it was ok to them. I mean, we were learning, just not in the same way as everyone else.

The note translated to something like _Who is this guy? And what the heck is with the dog?_

I wrote back.

_Δεν είστε σίγουροι. Μοιάζει με ένα αχνό οδοντογλυφίδα που ξέχασε να ξυρίσει._

I threw the note to Trent, writing_ Not sure. He looks like a pale toothpick that forgot to shave, _and Cato leaning over, reading it with him and the two tried to control their laughter. The translation was a little off, but they got the idea. The insult wasn't that hard to decipher.

"Mr. Jackson, Mr. Jackson and Ms. Clayborn, what exactly is so funny?"

Crap, busted by the big bad splinter.

At the mention of our last names, we all turned from our seats in the back and looked at the sub. Every ones' eyes were on the three of us, some trying to hide their smiles and others looking pitiful. We all hated being called out by the teacher and it was the one thing that united us as obnoxious, unfocused teenagers.

We looked at each other, our eyes begging the others to come up with an idea, and then we turned back to the man. His eyes were squinted; mouth a straight line, and his head turned towards the note in Trent's hand. Perfect, all he had to do was ask for the note, then we could lie about the translation.

"Bring me that."

I stifled a smile as Trent stood, walking up and handing Mr. Yus the note, then returned to his seat with his own smile. There was no way he could read it.

Everyone leaned forward in their seats, wanting to hear what was on the note, but Mr. Yus just kept it to himself. His eyes squinted at the words, confusion on his face at first, but then he grew angry, like too angry for someone who couldn't read the note. He couldn't read it… right?

"Well," he folded it up and slid it into his coat pocket, "If that's how you three really feel about me, then you can stay after class and we can discuss this." His words were hard and his glare was intense, but he dropped it and turned back to talking to the class.

I stared at my friends, their shock as evident as mine. He _read_ the letter? How many substitutes knew ancient Greek? Our plan was shot down before it even started! I shook my head, closed my hanging mouth, and slumped back in my seat until the end of the class. This was gonna be a long day.

Everyone left to go onto second period except for us three misfits, who stayed perfectly still in our back three seats, and Mr. Yus stared at us. His eyes seamed even darker and meaner than before, the glaring going from kindergarten level to when you break something that belonged to your mom, and he pointed to the front of his desk without even saying a single word.

We lumbered up to his desk, our heads hanging in a fake disappointment, and we stopped in a line, me in the middle and the boys on my sides. The dog started growling, standing on all four of his legs, but he stayed by Mr. Yus's side.

"You are in big trouble. Call me a toothpick? Did you really think I'd let that go so easily?"

His words and eyes were directed towards me, his bony fingers crossed and his scowl sturdy. Something felt wrong with this guy… I didn't like being this close to him. My gut was tight and unhappy and my fingers were getting extremely twitchy. What was up with this guy? And why was I the subject of ridicule? Was there not twin one and twin two right next to me?

Trent took a half step forward, taking a huge risk, and he tried to reconcile with Mr. Yus.

"Look sir-"

"I wasn't talking to you Jackson."

I swear I felt the tension actually rise in the air after that statement, it was intense. Almost like someone took jello and shoved it into the small room, making all of us stuck in the same faintly shocked expression. Well… except Mr. Yus of course.

Mr. T. Yus stood, his hands now flat on his desk, and he towered over me. I felt defense and anger leak off the boys, and they inched in front of me the slightest bit. Was I really the only one confused right now?

"Move demi-gods" _demi-what? _"Or you will die along with her. We only want the girl."

Why did it always have to be me? Why did I always have to be that one unusual kid that was _always_ the problem? And how the heck did I go from getting in trouble to _dying_? That's a little extreme if you ask me… ya know, the one who's dying.

"You have to go through us to get to her." Cato almost growled, his hands clenching. He and Trent look almost murderous, like they knew who Mr. Yus was and didn't want him around. I had never seen them getting this angry, and I told to remember this whenever we had a 'who can be the most annoying' contest.

"Wha-" I tried to interject.

"So be it."

Mr. Yus whistled and the dog jumped up onto the desk. We all took a huge stepped back, our backs hitting the front row of desks, and we watch the dog. It started to grow, like a Chia pet stuck next to a sprinkler, stopping when it was about twice its original size, and it looked ten times as murderous. It looked so familiar, like I had seen it before, and then it hit me. It couldn't be possible… but I went for it, praying that I wouldn't look like a lunatic asking it.

"That's Laelaps… that hunting dog that always got his prey, right?" I had seen his picture in my history books once or twice… but I didn't know he was actually real!

Mr. Yus smirked, moving his lanky hands behind his back.

"The one and only. You're smarter than I thought girl."

Thanks jerk-off.

I ignored the insult, eyes still trained on the dog, and I asked the next question I wondered.

"But… I thought Zeus put him and that fox thing in the sky."

Mr. Yus's smirk moved to a frown, and he glared at the heavens.

"True, that evil man trapped this poor creature in the sky," the smirk returned, "but I pulled a few strings and he's here now. And he's very happy to have you as his first prey."

Almost on cue, the dog growled, looking like it was actually _smiling_ at us, and it got ready to pounce. There was only one thought that came to me, and it wasn't to stand and fight the one creature that never lost its prey. It was run.

I sprinted from the room, pulling the guys with me, and eventually all three of us were dashing equally through the halls. The barks and footsteps of Laelaps echoed after us (like a dog horror movie gone wrong), my pounding heart beat making it hard to guess how close he was, but I kept running none the less.

We stormed into the library, scaring the living daylights out the old librarian who was calming stocking shelves and whistling, and we hid behind the non-fiction section towards the back left corner of the empty dust-filled library. Yeah, the perfect spot to hid from a mental dog and his whack-job owner.

Trent pulled out his rarely used cell phone and dialed a number. I looked at him like he was crazy, seeing as making a phone call when you're getting chased but a flawless hunting dog isn't appropriate (like _Yes can I have an extra large cheese pizza but to go because I'm kind of in a tight spot right now),_ but I heard the conversation in hushed whispers, thankful it wasn't a pizza guy.

"Mom! We need help… yes, I know it's dangerous using my phone but…. No I… mom! We need HELP… Bring dad… yes… no we left them at home… yes I know it was a stupid idea! Can you just… we're in the library…. Hurry!" He snapped the phone closed and looked around the corner, the library eerily quiet. I waited for the Jaws theme song to come on as we waited anxiously.

"Guys, what the hell is going on?" I questioned them, feeling confused anger rise in me. Why did they know what was going on but I didn't? I hated being out of the loop.

Cato and Trent shared a glance, and then turned back to me. They quickly started their 'twin talk', which meant one would start talking and they'd go back and forth till they were done talking and I could barley understand what the heck they were saying. Trent started.

"Look Gwen-"

"-we didn't want-"

"-you to be involved. We just-"

"-need you to-"

"-trust us with-"

"-this." Cato finished, looking at me sadly. Trent had the same expression, but that only confused me more. I understood all of that clearly, but what weren't they telling me?

Suddenly, the doors burst open, the noise giving us that clue from behind the book shelf, and the growling continued. Show time.

"Where are you little heroes? This could've been so much easier."

Mr. Yus.

Fear and rage filled me, my fists shaking in my lap, and I glared through the book shelf. Who was this guy? Why did he have to ruin the last day of school for us? And why was I so important? I wanted answers to these questions so bad it was making my skin crawl in anxiety.

Cato noticed my anger and he gripped my fists, looking me in the eye. His look said to calm down, to stop before I hurt someone or myself, and I listened. I just wanted it all to stop.

"You know I met twins like you once," Mr. Yus's voice got closer, the growling besides him, "Of course they were immortal and much more dangerous, but that doesn't madder. I still hate twins, and you two are no exception. I'll take and ruin your girl just like I took theirs. Sure yours is a friend and theirs was a mother… but I'm not picky."

That's not creepy at all (*holds up giant card that says SARCASM*)

He was greeted with silence, and he chuckled one last thing.

"Don't know who I am yet? You're just missing _it_."

My head started zooming with his words, thinking of possibilities of who he was and what was the 'it' he was referring to, his story sounding so familiar, when it hit me like… like a stapler. He had the same story as Tityus; the titan who tried to rape Artemis and Apollo's mother and for punishment was chained to a rock to have his liver eaten by vultures every day, but this couldn't be the same guy could it? He wasn't real… was he? If he was, I was really hoping the so called 'ruin' he was talking about, wasn't the same for me as it was for their mom.

Before I could even say anything, a new voice entered the library, sounding a little older and much wittier.

"Shouldn't you be chained to a rock dealing with your liver problems?"

The three of us peaked out our heads around the corner, wanting to see who it was, and relief and dread filled my body. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson stood near the front of the library, wearing the same outfit from that morning, but they both had swords in their hand; Mr. Jackson's a long sword that glowed slightly and Mrs. Jackson a bronze dagger that glinted wickedly. When'd they get those and where could I get one?

Mr. Yus turned, Laelaps at attention near his side, and he scowled at Mrs. Jackson's question, as if it brought up some bad memory. Oh wait… right… the vultures. Got it, I'm up to speed now. Let's continue.

"_Don't bring it up!" _he hissed, shaking with anger, "It's none of your business daughter of Athena," _daughter of who? _"why don't you just take yourself and leave me to my business? I have important madders to discuss with Ms. Clayborn."

I shivered involuntarily at my name, the way he said my name made it seem like I was an appetizer for his three course meal, and I felt the boys tense near me. They wouldn't attack; they wanted to see what their parents would do first, and frankly, so did I.

Mr. Jackson stepped forward, hand gripping his blade tighter, and he spoke darkly, "You won't touch her. You want her; you gotta get through us first. Plus, Tityus, I'm pretty sure we can take on an old vulture lunchable and his pet constellation."

The two of them raised their weapons, emphasizing their point, and that only made Mr. Yus angrier.

"Get them."

Tityus' order made Laelaps move, his body leaping from ten feet away, and the two eldest Jackson sprung into action.

They split, avoiding the killer dog, and they ran different direction. Mrs. Jackson came towards us, skidding to a halt behind our shelf, and she knelt down to our level.

"Alright, so you're father's got Laelaps distracted for a while-"

"ANNABETH!"

"Ok maybe not as long as I thought. Take these," she handed the twins weapons that looked like theirs, (was I the only one without a cool weapon?) "get her out of here." She pointed at me when she finished talking, then she stood and ran over towards Mr. Jackson's yelling voice.

My head was whirling with information, all of it took much to handle, but I rose to my feet none the less. We had to leave, even if it wasn't going to help clear things up.

"Let's move."

Even if I felt bad about leaving Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, judging by how they were out numbering the dog and taking it down slowly, I had a feeling they would be fine.

"Percy now!"

We watched from the front door, mesmerized, and Mr. Jackson slashed at Laelaps, a salami sized thick gash appearing on its belly. It whimpered painfully, slamming down on the ground, and it suddenly burst into a million tiny stars. All the stars started to float up towards the ceiling, going straight through the neon lights, and the dog was gone.

Tityus yelled out in rage, glaring at the Jacksons. His scrawny figure shook with rage, and if his eyes weren't so murderous, I'd compare him to a five year old who was on the verge of a temper tantrum.

"I'll be back, and when I _do_ come back, I'll make sure to take her with me."

Tityus' eyes landed on me, smirking once, before he clapped his hands together and sent a wave that rippled the library, sending us all flying out of it.

Windows broke, shelves fell over, and the five of us took a great trip through the glass door and skidding down the hallway. The fire alarm was set off, sprinklers starting to soak everything, and I sat up slowly, looking around as my ears rang.

Well that went well.

Mr. Jackson was sprawled across the floor, one foot in the low water fountain and the other on the tile floor. Mrs. Jackson was on top of him, her head on his chest and her body facing the broken doors of the library, the two together almost making a T shape. Trent was slumped against a wall, his sword still in his hand but his shoe missing, and Cato was halfway in the guy's bathroom door, probably scaring the crap out of any guys who were in there.

I lay in the middle of the hall, my body somehow managing to become parallel to the library doors, and I groaned in pain. We all grumbled and grunted, soaking wet and trying to get up. I felt like someone tied a rope around my waist, jerked me backwards, ran me through a glass compacter, and hung me out on a tile wall in a rain storm

"Doesn't look like we didn't destroy something today." Cato remarked, crawling out of the bathroom.

"A new school next year?"

"No doubt." Mr. Jackson answered his wife, the two untangling themselves.

I was so confused it wasn't even funny. What just happened? Why were they all so calm about it? Was that all _real_? If so, HOW is it real?

I turned and looked at the boys, both now sitting by each other. They returned the look, but my glare soon made them scared.

"You two have _a lot_ of explaining to do."

**A/N: Will the boys ever get to explain? Will Trent find his shoe? Will Tityus get Gwen? Will I stop asking you these questions? **** Ok guys! Hope you liked it. R and R! Thanks! Also, if you want to ask me questions, you can review and ask them. I will answer them in the next chapter. Just leave a name I can address you by then your question. THANKS GUYS! **


	2. Chapter 2: I meet a horse

Gwen PJ Fanfic Chapter 2

**A/N: HI LOVELY PEOPLE! Same/Next chapter. Nice, edited and ready to go! **** Enjoy**

Chapter 2: I meet a horse and electrocute a goat

I sat at the Jackson's kitchen table, a towel wrapped around my shoulders and my legs crossed, and I watched the family have a pow-wow. And by pow-wow I meant a conversation between four people that I wasn't involved in.

"Percy… you don't think?"

"Annabeth she has to be. Why else would he go after her?" I learned very quickly that the 'she' was me… even if I was sitting right in front of them I was still mentioned in third person. It was like watching your own soap opera.

"Mom," Trent, "It makes sense. She's been hidden by the scent of Ms. Mendilave for the past three years, it'd explain why she's been moving schools and why bad things happen to her. She has to be."

"He's right Annie."

"Excuse me," I raised my hand as all the family members turned and looked at me, "What _exactly_ am I?" I had been waiting patiently enough, I really wanted answers now. I was done with the _Gwen Clayborn_ show.

All four of them looked at me. They were still wet like I was, the whole sprinkler incident soaking us from head to toe, and I started to get a little fidgety under all their stares. They looked at me like they were arguing a secret madder, like I was some question no one knew the answer to. Being that question is a great feeling… not.

"Annabeth," Mr. Jackson spoke up slowly, turning to look at his wife, "Look at her eyes. I hadn't noticed it before… but look at them."

Again, everyone's attention went to me, and I felt my heart start to beat a little faster. What about my eyes? Was there something wrong with them?

I turned and looked in the mirror above the key rack by the kitchen door, but found nothing out of the ordinary with them. They had a blue-gray color, the two colors mixing together peacefully, and I looked back at the Jacksons. Was there something off about the color today? They always looked like this… and what did they have to do with getting attacked by things that shouldn't have existed? Could my eye color predict who attacked next? Or something simpler like the weather?

Mrs. Jackson pondered my eyes, looking back and forth between the right and the left eye (making me very self conscious and I started to wonder if I had a lazy eye), until she came to a mental decision and nodded slowly.

"There's only one way to find out if you're right."

I'm all up for vacations; in fact I support them whole heartedly. But when your friends say there's a change in plans, drives you to your house, and have you pack almost all your belongings for this so called 'trip'… you get a little doubtful about the vacation. I started feeling more like I was moving or being kidnapped rather than going on a vacations.

The twins were helping me pack two bags for my trip, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson trying to talk Ms. Mendilave into letting me go on a longer trip, and I stood in my door dumbly with a confused look on my face. Was I lost this much regularly?

"Gwen, come here." Trent beckoned, waving me over as he looked through my desk, Cato packing my clothes. Since when did they know where all of my stuff was?

I shuffled to him, hands in my pocket, and I glanced down at what he was doing. He had laid out a good amount of my personal stuff and was making two piles.

"This," he pointed to the pile on the right, "is take with us. This," –left pile-, "is to stay until we come back. What do you want to take and what do you want to keep?"

He looked at me, his gray eyes storming and calculating everything his brain was throwing at him, and I swear I saw a flash of desperation in his expression. He didn't just want me to go along with all of this; he _needed_ me to go along with it. The look on his face told me to stop questioning everything and just do it, they'd answer questions later.

I nodded twice, telling him I understood, and I turned back to my stuff.

"Take the camera, picture of my dad, wallet, pocket knife, and my stuff animal owl." Trent raised his eyebrow, a small smirk spreading more across his face, and I stuck my tongue out at him. I wasn't five… but I couldn't just leave my owl! The evil bug eater might try to deep fry it!

"Shut up I love Strix." I picked the small light gray with brown lines owl up and hugged him, making another face at Trent. He only laughed and gently took the six inch tall Strix from my hand.

"The owl goes." And he continued sorting my stuff.

Just so you know, Strix was the owl my dad gave me on my fifth birthday. He said the name was super important and that it could never change, but I never wanted it to change either. Strix was the perfect name for him, and even if he was twelve years old and a little tattered, I still loved him none the less. He came with a little collar that had a ring on it, probably put on there by my dad, and I always fiddled with the ring when I got upset.

We continued packing for about ten more minutes, me stopping Cato just in time before he packed ALL of my clothing, and we grabbed my stuff and walked back out to the living room.

The smell of deep fried oil and Ms. Mendilave's perfume filled the air, making a gag form at the back of my throat, and I grew extremely hesitant about walking into the kitchen where I could hear Mr. Jackson and the old bat talking. She was cooking her dinner… the worst time of day.

Mr. Jackson had gone out, yes _without_ Mrs. Jackson, to get more spiders for my nasty foster parent, and I knew that was exactly what she was cooking for herself.

I inched forward, my feet hesitating right before they hit the linoleum floor, and I almost lost the lunch I got from the Jacksons earlier.

A big box of them sat on the counter, each one crawling around and trying to escape, and I felt my lungs seize up. Ms. Mendilave was deep frying them; picking each one up with a pair of tongs, rubbing it around in some kind of sauce, then dropped it into the burning hot oil, the little booger squirming in pain until it stopped moving and kept cooking. I was going to be sick.

Mr. Jackson stood next to the stove, hands in his pocket and his body slight rigid, and a pale Mrs. Jackson watched silently from the other side of the table. See? I told you she was smart.

"Ms. Mendilave, please just listen t-"

"No!" She almost barked, slamming her tongs down next to the cage, making it rattle (my heart having a seizure when the top jumped a little),"That little brat doesn't deserve more vacation! She should be here cleaning and doing things for me."

I shook my head, here we go. This woman never lets me do anything fun, and even if Mr. Jackson was amazingly persuasive… I doubt he'd get anywhere.

"Ms. Mendi-"

"I said no!" She plopped another spider in, my stomach somersaulting with it, but I swallowed the feeling. I needed to fight for my vacation, not shrink away like the baby Ms. Mendilave always called me.

"Ms. Mendilave," I started, pulling out every smooth talking trick I knew in the book, "If I go away for longer, you won't have to deal with me as much. I'll leave money from my job," –working at a local diner for three nights a week as a waitress. I only got minimum wage… cheep scapes- "and you can use that money to call a cleaner in my place. I'll make sure nothing bothers you and when I get back I'll buy you three boxes of spiders and cook you whatever you want." I through the last little bit in there just to break her, and judging by the thoughtful look she had on her face, I knew I had won.

"You'll cook my spiders for me?" She asked, pointing at the box and squinting at me, her big glasses in their original librarian position. I resisted the urge to gulp, and I nodded.

"Every single one."

She thought more, then turned back to Mr. Jackson.

"You won't be calling me for money or payments like that will you?"

He smiled, "No ma'am. We've got it all covered."

She looked between all over faces, before slowly nodding.

"Take her and leave me alone."

I hid my jump for joy and I only nodded, shouldering one of my two bags, and I turned abruptly. I kept the straight face present as I walked out of the house, locking it behind Mrs. Jackson and closing the glass door. As soon as I closed it, I smiled at the twins.

"Am I good, or am I good?"

"You're good." They agreed simultaneously, grins of their own plastered on their faces.

We all filed into the car, my stuff put in the back, and we started driving.

I wasn't really sure where we were going. We kept taking random exits and tried to get through New York traffic as fast as we could, Mr. Jackson cursing in Greek once or twice (Which shocked me by the way since I thought he only knew English), and I had no time to really ask what was going on. All I knew was we were going somewhere, I had almost all my stuff with me, Mrs. Jackson was talking really intensely with someone of the phone, and Trent's feet smelt like stale nacho cheese after he took his shoes off. Judging off of that little information I knew, it was safe to say I was confused out of my wits and just hoping for the best. No, scratch that, I was _praying_ for the best. I really didn't want another run in with the toothpick of torture and his shinny pup. I only had enough sanity in a day to handle one of them.

We drove for about thirty minutes before the car stopped, my eyes opening from a quick nap my body decided to take without my brain's consent (… thanks body), and I stretch lazily in the car. I rubbed the cloudy sleep from my eyes, my brain hitting the reboot button as it tried to wake up, and I came face to face with a horse as I stepped out of the car.

My brain told me it was a horse, but my eyes shut it up, yelling at it to look at it again (My organs like to fight with each other). There was something very wrong with the horse. Its head and neck were missing… like completely. Instead there was a… torso? A human body was sprouting from the 'horse's' shoulders, and I tilted my head to the right, my mouth sliding open faintly in shock, and I pondered if I was still awake or asleep. What the heck was going on? I knew my brain was messed up, but really?

I heard car doors open and close around my, the others joining me, but I continued to stare at the middle of the half-breed, fascinated by the mixture. I reached my hand out, hesitant at first, but then I slowly moved it forward and poked the thing, checking to see if it was actually there.

"It isn't polite to poke my dear."

I jumped back, hugging my hand to my chest, and my mouth fell open even more as I looked up to where the voice originated. I didn't expect it to _talk_ back to me!

A man… well half of a man seeing as his other half was kinda a horse, was looking down at me with an expression of amusement, his bow slung over his shoulder, and his horse tail twitched behind him. I stared at him for a moment, mouth still open and eyes squinted in thought, and the first thing I thought of tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop it.

"I didn't know centaurs had beards."

I officially broke the _special_ scale with that comment.

I heard a few laughs, the noise breaking me from my trance, and I grew red as I glanced around and noticed the Jacksons looking just as amused as the centaur. How did I manage to put myself in these situations?

"Gwen this is Chiron. He's a-"

"Trainer of heroes and was taught by Artemis and Apollo to become the most intelligent centaur ever alive." I finished for Trent, my eyes not leaving the centaur. I was both shocked and intrigued, really wondering now how all of this was possible. Was there seriously a centaur in front of me? Or have the Jacksons pulled of the greatest prank of mankind?

Everyone was a little taken back by my knowledge of Chiron, and I turned deep scarlet again as I replied, "What? I only paid attention in History class."

Chiron laughed, smiling down at me. It was a warm smile, one you gave a good friend or a little sibling, and I couldn't help but smile back a little.

"So this is the one you were telling me about?" Chiron asked Mrs. Jackson, "That possible demi-god?"

There that word was again. Demi-god. What exactly was the point of this word with our lives? Were demi-gods even real? Why do I keep talking to myself?

I shook my head, desperate to clear my head and pay attention, when something shiny caught my eye. A glitter of gold in my peripherals, absorbing the warm sunlight and I turned my head to look at it.

Now, have you ever had one of those moments when you don't remember moving but you end up in a different spot then when you started? Yeah I had one of those moments; it only took about three seconds to happen. One instant, I was standing in front of Chiron who was happily talking to the Jackson adults, and the next I was standing in front of a tree. I honestly wasn't sure how my brain could skip so much, but I just went with it as I stared up at the tree.

The tree was tall, a strong pine that stretched high up into the sky. Its branches were full of life, almost glowing in a 'holy' nature light, and the colors of it were rich and beautiful. On the lowest brace sat the shinny object, a solid gold object that looked a ton like a ram fleece. It seemed to be giving the tree its amazing life, and I couldn't help but stretch my hand out and try to touch it.

A low and quick hiss came from the base of the tree, and without pulling back, I glanced down. My heart jumped into my neck, did a quick Irish jig, then committed suicide in my stomach acid. A very… _very_ large (like take a Great Dan, multiply it by ten and give it the power to breath fire) dragon sat under the tree, his body and tail wrapped around the bottom. He was watching me with his yellow eyes, his wickedly striking copper scales polished enough to almost shine like the fleece, and he raise his head so it was at my head level.

While my internal five year old wanted to run away crying and begging for protection, my teenage self swallowed the fear and shifted my hand slightly towards the dragon. Yes I am fully aware that trying to pet a dragon is a horribly stupid idea… but when did I have good ideas?

He didn't move, his curiosity filled eyes watching me, and I set my hand on his forehead. We sat like that for a moment, both of us looking at the other in a silent connection, but then he almost smiled at me. You know… if dragons could smile.

He nuzzled into my hand once, nodding a little and giving me his permission to go in farther, then he sat back under his tree and closed his eyes, most likely wanting to go back to sleep. I watched him, more curiosity filling me and I turned to my left and looked over the hill I walked up to get here.

You know that feeling like your having a hallucination, but the small logical (well, small for me) part in your brain tells you it's real no matter how unrealistic it looks? Yeah, that feeling was buzzing inside my whole body, like a bunch of bees that wanted escape, and I blinked twice before looking around.

A beautiful valley accompanied by an ocean sat in front of me, the hypnotizing smell of strawberries floating up into my nose, and a small forest was off to my left. A tall and old looking house was near the woods and a bunch of cabins were clustered together near it, each one decorated uniquely. There was a volley ball court and a rock wall. There were huge buildings that looked like arenas from the outside and other buildings that could've been used for anything. It was so beautiful, happiness rushed me and I couldn't stop the next I did.

I walked forward and down the hill.

Ok, walking into a camp you're not a part of at all is kind of rude, seeing as people probably had to pay to get in here like the Jacksons most likely did, but I couldn't help it. ADHD plus stunning scenery just means trouble.

I walked along, turning around once or twice to look at everything and try to take it all in like a kid in the world biggest candy store, when I bumped into someone. I fell on my butt, the person's grunt signally they fell too, and I looked up to see who was a victim of my curiosity this time.

What I didn't expect was a harsh glare. Ok… I didn't know exactly _what_ to expect, but defiantly not that.

"HEY! Watch where you're going! Looks like this newbie doesn't know her place yet." A mean and nasty looking girl snarled, two of the four people following helping her up.

As far as bullies went, I had learned to deal with every single type that was in the book. Mean ones, stupid ones, and even insecure ones that have no business bullying people. But this girl… she looked like her own special definition of bully mix with a whole lotta hate.

She had frizzy brown hair, it looking kinda dirty and matted, and she a bad case of acne. Her eyes were an ugly green that leaked furry, a scowl on her face showing stained but weirdly straight teeth, almost as if someone gave her braces then ground yellow dye and coffee grounds against her teeth. In other words, _really_ unattractive.

I got to my feet with much more ease, her figure being almost three times the size of my in shape one, and I returned the heated glare. I wasn't going to be pushed around, especially since I just got here! I wouldn't let this over grown hothead ruin this place for me already.

I decided instead of retaliating with anger, I should play it cool and pull out my comebacks that have just waited to come out. This should be good.

"Pardon me, really, but I'm pretty sure you've confused me with someone." I smiled sweetly at her as I said this.

The clear as day confusion that smacked her face almost made me burst out laughing, but I held my composure as I waited for a reply.

"What?" That was intelligent.

I nodded, slowly walking past her and toward the cabins.

"Oh yeah. You defiantly confused me… with someone who actually gave a fuck."

My shoulder collided with hers, stopping my movement. I gave her the darkest glare I could muster, a shadow passing over my face as I drilled my eyes into her, and before I continued to walk away I saw the twinge of fear flicked behind her masked anger. She now official had a challenger.

Her minions growled as I walked by, a few gripping weapons like the ones the Jacksons had, and I continued walking as I heard her repulsive voice scratch at my ears.

"Bitchy little newbie. Probably isn't even claimed by her parent yet."

Of course I didn't really know how this was an insult, but by the way her cronies were snickering and smirking, I knew she hadn't just complimented me.

I stopped, turning back towards her.

"You know, I'm just trying to make friends here. So do you want me to accept you as you are… or do you want me to actually like you?"

The bull shaped girl started charging at me, none of her friends holding her back, and for maybe half a second I considered running for my life. That was, of course, before a tall figure stepped in front of me, his body blocking almost all of mine. Wait… where'd he come from?

"Hi there Lillian," He greeted, a grin present in his words, "How are you today?"

I won't lie to you. This stranger's voice was, in an odd sense, very attractive. It was the perfect balance of low and high, the smooth and easy tone nice on the ears, and it fit him… well it fit his back at least considering it was all I saw.

"Luke. Get out of my away. I need to teach this runt her place." Lillian barked, hands tight fists at her sides. She looked like she really wanted to pulverize me, but the boy didn't move.

He shoved his hands in his pocket.

"Don't think so Lil'. You don't leave her be, I'll sick our head horse man on you. You don't want that now do you? Does another week of dish duty for you and your followers really appeal to you that much?" His tone was demanding, challenging and powerful. I imagined he had one eyebrow up, not breaking any form of eye contact with the girl, and he wasn't going to back down anytime soon.

Lillian glared hard, her ugly face scrunched up unhappily, but she sighed and walked around Luke, heading back towards the repulsive red cabin she had just come from.

"Watch yourself smart-ass. Next time the big hero won't be here to help you."

Her insult didn't scare me in the slightest, my glare holding its own as she turned her back to me, and I turned back to the boy you I owed a lot to.

I nearly stopped breathing when I saw him, but I told myself that wouldn't help me live or stay conscious.

I usually didn't pay much attention to guys, having the twin to entertain me and my relationship urges weak enough to ignore, but this boy was one simple word. Gorgeous (in his own masculine way of course).

He had crop short raven colored hair that he had it jelled up off his forehead and away from his eyes. His skin was slightly tan, a reminisce of being pale lying under the tan, and he had not one single blemish on his face. His jaw was strong but not over dominant, his face looking mature even if it had no facial hair.

He was built, shoulder strong and arms slightly ripped, but he didn't have a massive over load of muscles like those crazy buff guys you see at local gyms. Yeah, the ones that go just to make little people feel insecure about their chicken arms.

He was two to three inches taller than me, making him 5'10 or 5'11, and he had to look down at me slightly. He wore an orange shirt that after a minute I realized said CAMP HALF-BLOOD, most likely the camp we were at right now, and a pair of black cargo shorts. He had this bead necklace that had seven beads on it, each one a different color and had a different design.

After I checked out his body, my eyes traveled quickly back up and connected with his eyes which, by the way, were wandering themselves.

They held his emotions, confusion mixed with glimmers of interest, and they analyzed my blue-grey ones. They color was an electric blue, the color so intense it was hard to look at… yet hard to pull away from. They danced with energy, little sparks of actual electricity seeming to cross over the white then black iris, and he smiled while we kept eye contact.

"I haven't seen you around here before. You new?" His smile remained, our eyes still locked, neither one of us giving up the position we held. I would keep this stare off as long as I could; I never backed down from a challenge.

I thought about his question, knowing lying would get me in more trouble, so I went with the truthful thing that popped up in my head.

"I kind of just walked in here."

I swear I have never seen anyone's eyebrows shoot up so fast, it was like a rocket lift of sped up time ten.

"What?" He gave me the most baffled look; I couldn't help but smile at it.

"I was brought here, saw something shinny, walked around, ran into that ugly thing, and yeah… I kinda just walked in." I shrugged my shoulders, smirking a little as I explained.

He didn't hold back the small chuckle when I said 'ugly thing', but his demeanor seemed to change. He was now analyzing me, looking me over and practically studying me. I felt like one of those frogs under a microscope, getting watched and studied, and I tried not to squirm under his concentrated stare.

"Who brou-"

"THERE YOU ARE!"

Both of our heads snapped to the right, looking towards the hill I wandered away from what seemed like a long time ago, and I saw an angry pair of twins followed by a relieved set of parents and a centaur who was trying to hide how impressed he was. Oh yeah… I forgot to tell them where I was.

Oops.

I smiled, turning to face them, and I waved weakly, laughing nervously.

"Hey guys. Long time no see right?" I smiled more, but when I saw the amusement didn't pass on, I dropped the face and putting on my I'm-five-years-old-getting-punished face.

"Where'd you go?" Trent started his rant, looking a little distressed, "We looked everywhere and didn't notice you leave. How did you get all the way down here to the cabins?"

"I walked." Duh.

I heard Luke cover up his laugh with a strangled cough; not meeting anyone's eyes and hiding him smile by covering his mouth with his hand, doubling over to make the cough believable. I tried to hide my smile too, the laughing idiot on my left not making the task easy, but I managed to keep a somewhat calm composer as Trent rolled his eyes.

Mrs. Jackson spoke up, smiling a little as she saved her son from having an ulcer from caring too much.

"As long as you're ok. Chiron… should we tell her now?"

All eyes went to the centaur as my eyebrows came together. Tell me what? Again with me being the only one confused? I thought we were past this!

He looked at me with ancient eyes, wrapped up in his own discussion, when he nodded in finality.

"Bring her to the Big House… we have a lot to discuss."

I stood on the pier of the lake, my head spinning and my hands trembling a little as I tried to process everything I was just told.

Gods? There were gods? And my mom was one of them? All those years I had accidents… they weren't technically my fault. Monster attacks… my dad dying.

_My dad._

A tear spilled down my right cheek, my hands gripping the smooth dark brown railing of the dock till my knuckles turned white. It was my fault he died. If I wasn't a demi-god or whatever he'd still be around and I wouldn't have cause the monster that killed him to come. All those foster homes, all that pain of my loss. This couldn't be happening. I couldn't be some freakish child spawn of a goddess that had an affair with a human. I was just a mentally unstable kid with a dead dad and a mom who was never around, moving from home to home until I graduated High school. That was the only reality I could handle.

But… it all made _sense_. The attacks, the moving around, the ADHD, the dyslexia, the reason my mom was never around. It just… didn't seem real.

I was so stuck in my thoughts that I didn't notice the pair of feet walk on the dock and stand next to me. The person stood behind me, and their speaking brought me back to reality.

"I'm sorry."

My head turned slowly, my eyes landing on Luke, and I quickly brushed away the stray tear before turning to face him. I couldn't let him think I was weak… I had to stay strong.

"For what?" I asked, not really wanting to make eye contact, my gaze aimed at him black converse that stood relaxed on the dock.

"For hearing all about this." His voice was kind and gentle, really understanding, "It's really hard at first. You deny it," –check- "then you hate yourself for it when you believe it," –check- "but there is one good thing."

I looked up at him, my eyes urging him to continue. I wanted to know this good thing. I wanted to know if this thing could make it all better.

"It gets easier." He smiled at me, the look on his face cute and sweet, "Trust me. I've got a dad who's a pain in the… well satyr tail," the sky randomly rumbled on this perfectly cloudless day, "but I've learned to embrace him as a dad and I love being a half-blood. Best thing that happened to me." He leaned back against the rail and crossed his arms, his smile still present.

I looked at his, a little skeptical about his words, but then his bead necklace caught my eye. Chiron said each bead represented a year, and this hot lunatic had seven… so maybe he DID know what he was talking about.

"Easier you say?" I inquired, an eyebrow raised and a smile trying to break my expression. I saw Luke's eyes light up, an idea forming in his head.

"Come with me."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No! I'm going to hurt someone!"

"You will not. Just try!"

I stood in the archery range, a solid gold spear balancing in my palm, and my eyes stared at the little target wayyyyyy down the line. This boy was officially crazy.

Apparently his way of cheering me up was taking me to a place, handing me a weapon, telling me to point, and he'd do the rest. I really didn't understand how this would help prove his point (his sanity slipping a little bit more the longer I spend with him), but I had followed him here. So pretty much I'm the dumb one for following him.

"How does this even work?" I asked in disbelief, putting my empty hand on my hip and putting the flat end of the spear against the ground. This boy better start explaining or I'd rush him to the Apollo cabin for some serious brain examinations.

He rolled his eyes. Yeah, that's super helpful.

"Look. I just want you to point the spear at the target. I'll take care of the rest. Trust me." His warm and callused (yes I notice these things… don't judge) hand gripped mine on the spear, and his smirk made me turn away from him and look back at the target.

Here goes nothing.

I aimed the spear, my right hand holding it up near my ear, and I held it perfectly still.

I suddenly heard a light crackling noise next t my ear, the air getting heavy and the smell of ozone smacking my senses. My fingers began to tingle, the feeling rushing up and livening up my brain, and I felt my eyes wide. I knew exactly was happening.

I stayed perfectly still, waiting to see it hit the target.

"Gwen!"

Did I mention I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate ADHD? No? Well I seriously do. Like I cannot EVEN express how much I dislike the disorder.

As soon as my name broke my eardrums, my head and upper body turned, my attention on the caller. My hand moved out, of course _away_ from the target, and the next thing I knew there was a loud rumble in the distance and a loud bleating noise.

I didn't want to look… I really didn't. I had a keen sense of knowing when I'm in trouble, mainly because it happens a lot more than normal, and I could feel the trouble vibes rushing up and down my spine. Targets didn't bleat.

I turned away from the name caller, not even knowing who it was, and I looked over towards the targets. Standing about twenty feet away from the range, shocked and blinking while he held something suspiciously like an enchilada, was a charcoaled satyr. He was smoking a little, eyes opened wide in shock, but other than that there was no physical damage. I had just electrocuted a goat… I'm pretty sure people go to hel- I mean Hades for that.

"Well," Luke said quietly, his voice a little shaky, "there is only one true option in this situation."

"And that is?" I questioned not taking my eyes off the satyr who was staring at us.

"Grab the spear and run."

We both took off, golden spear still in my grasp, and we heard faint calls of protest behind us.

I couldn't stop the genuine laugh from leaving my gut as we ran, Luke's laughter soon accompanying my own, and we raced passed a lot of people. We laughed like idiots, getting faster as we sprinted past the Big House, and I heard a voice call after me that sounded a lot like Mrs. Jackson… eh Annabeth (they both said I could start calling me by their first name since we were somehow related, even if we weren't sure yet since I hadn't been claimed yet).

"What did you do now?"

She knew me so well.

"I'm making friends!" I called back, more laughter coming from Luke and me.

We managed to make it back to the Lake before lying out on the dock, our breaths rigid and heavy, running across the entire camp making us tired.

I turned and looked at him. A thought hit me, and I didn't hide the smile on my face.

"You're right."

He only raised an eyebrow in reply.

I smiled more, looking straight at him from where I was laying on the dock.

"It's gonna get better."

He beamed back at me, about to say something, when a distant voice stopped him.

"GWEN DID WHAT?!"

First day of camp and I'm already getting in trouble… I'm gonna like it here.

**A/N: Hey Guys! So there's chapter 2 **** Hope you liked! Please review, I love getting them. Helpful, non helpful, nice, flames (bring them, I dare you all (:), or questions! Again, I WILL answer questions if you send them, and yeah **** Lol I'll update ASAP **** I do have a life outside of this ya know :P**


	3. Chapter 3: I offer an owl nachos

**A/N: Hey Guys! Here is chapter three! Tell me what you all think! **** Read and Review! **

Chapter 3: I offer an owl nachos and my ring gets pointy

Have you ever gone to sleep somewhere, somewhere completely new, then wake up totally forgetting where the heck you where? No? Well let me tell you, it can almost give you a heart attack.

After a week in the Hermes cabin (I still haven't been 'claimed' or whatever so I'm stuck in the temporary cabin) and after a week being at camp, you'd think I'd be use to my bunk in the cabin. You'd think I would be use to my cabin and the people I shared it with. You'd think… but no.

The morning a week after I got here, my brain decided to be a jerk and forget where I was. I had woken up, glanced around, and almost freaked out because I had NO idea where I was. I had thought I had fallen asleep in Ms. Mendilave's awful house with my old bunk bed, so when I woke up to a cabin full of people and a room that smelt like Doritos and toothpaste (just… don't ask), saying I was a little scared was an understatement.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, feeling my heart calm down after its unnecessary freak-out, and that's when I realized the sun wasn't even up yet. Darkness shown through the window and sparkled across the floorboards, slivers on moonlight making everything look a little calmer, and I looked at the light up cat clock the Hermes kids 'borrowed'. It ticked _3:15_ at me. Wonderful, another sleepless night.

I rolled out of bed, my feet barley making any noise, and I scratched my stomach as I walked towards the bathroom. I know it probably would've been smart to try to go back to sleep since I had a full day of camp of head of me (seeing as both sword fighting and life or death rock wall climbing require sleep), but when I'm awake, I'm awake. It would've been just pointless to sit around and wait for my slightly obnoxious cabin mates to wake up. Let's just say, I'm glad I know my godly parent is a girl… I'm just saying.

I took a shower (super quietly by the way) and I got changed in regular camp clothes. Jeans and t-shirt… gotta love um.

I grabbed my CHESAPEAK BAY, MARYLAND sweatshirt I got on yet another Jackson family vacation, slipping the maroon colored fabric on my shoulders, and I slipped out of my cabin before anyone noticed. Which I was glad about, because knowing kids from the Hermes cabin, they have great imaginations and are great at spreading rumors. Seeing me leave the cabin at 3 in the morning? That would've been the perfect base for some wicked rumors I didn't need right now.

I walked down the steps of my cabin, cool night breeze flowing over my face and hands, and I looked left and right.

Moonlight covered every cabin, Artemis's cabin glowing in the eerie light, and I started to walk in and out of the cabins, making my way towards the beach. It was one of the most beautiful places in the entire camp in my opinion, and it was the one place I could actually clear my head for a second. No training, no ancient Greek, nothing but me and my thoughts.

And sometimes… that was a good thing.

I strolled past the volley ball court, hand shoving itself into my jean's pocket, and I pulled out my ever faithful IPod.

Yes ironically enough, I had an IPod. Sure Chiron warned about electronics and demi-gods not mixing, but I needed music. It wasn't a want, it had become a need. It was the only thing that had stayed the same in my life, everything constantly changing all the time, and music had always helped me think. If I could find something to stop my ADHD brain for five seconds, I wouldn't give it up anytime soon.

I slipped my head phones in as my feet hit the soft, moonlight colored sand, and I cranked the music up enough for it to buzz around my head and stop any outside distractions. Yeah this is what I needed.

I sat down in my usually spot, a small divot hidden down in the side of a dune, and I became invisible to the world. It was just the ocean and me. Sometimes I wonder if the Jacksons really did rub off on me.

I was alone for about five minutes, eyes closed and music floating around my ears, when a hand gentle grabbed my left headphone and pulled it towards my right side. I didn't have to look to see who stole my head phone, their body sitting next to mine in the sand and their legs stretching out in the sand, and I addressed them as I continued to face the ocean.

"Hi Luke."

The son of Zeus (I guessed that after the whole bar-b-qued satyr event) slipped my head phone in, sharing the music with me, and he replied back quietly, following my gaze.

"Hi Gwen."

We looked over the dark water, the moon shimmering on the dark surface, and black waves crashed down on the perfect sand, the low rumble of their movements filling my open ear. Stars were still present, a few popping up despite the moon's vibrant glow, and I laid back against the back on the dune, the small hill being like a recliner chair.

Luke was a night person, he slept during free time or whenever he had a chance during the day, and then he'd stay up almost all night and do whatever he wanted. I didn't understand his theory, all my teachers I've ever had would call it 'lazy' and 'counterproductive', but Luke didn't seem to care in the slightest. He was happy with his schedule, and he wasn't going to change it anytime soon.

I had been out walking around three out of the seven nights I've been here, sleeping not coming very quickly, and every time Luke has found me. He either hears me or he'd been walking around himself, so he finds me and joins me when I come to the beach. We usually don't talk, the words not needed and not really helping either one of us think, and these late nights have actually been the best part at camp for me. Well… you know… besides the fact I'm half god and can kick butt with a sword. Yeah, besides that.

"Who do you think she is?"

I decided to break the silence, that question burning itself into the back of my mind like a hot cattle prod (please don't ask how I know what that feels like, it involves a lot of cows, a trip to the hospital, an angry famer, a scar reading BUDDY'S CATTLE FARM, and two obnoxious twins with powers over the ocean), and I kept my eyes on the relaxing water in front of me.

Why hadn't my mom claimed me yet? I heard about Percy's swear to have the gods claim their kids, but really? It's been a week and nothing. How far would they stretch claiming me? And was I really that bad of a kid that they don't WANT to claim me? I can understand teachers who hate me sending me to the office, or bosses firing me for doing one thing wrong, but my own parent not claiming me? That's a whole new level of bad.

I heard Luke sigh, his tall figure lying back with me, and his voice directed itself towards the dark skies.

"Hmm, I don't know who you're talking about."

I turned and looked at him, the smallest smirk playing on his lips, and I punched his shoulder lightly.

"Shut up Sparky, you know who I mean." I grumbled, his laughing ringing happily in my ears.

"Sparky? That's so unoriginal!" He laughed, gripping his sides as he turned to look at me.

I rolled my eyes. Yes I was aware it was a horrible nickname, but hey… I was working on it.

"I know this. I'm working on it! But seriously, who do you think?"

I saw the seriousness cross his face, the smile dropping, and he actually thought about it.

"Well," he started, eyes returning to the sky, "Let's see. Hmmm, that's a great question Gweny," –Cato told him my nickname… yeah I wasn't too happy about it- "it really is. You're not mean enough to be the daughter of a goddess of anything negative, like Adicia the goddess of injustice or Apate the goddess of deceit. You're not emo enough to be the daughter of Algea the goddess of sorrow and grief. There is a possibility of you being the daughter of Aeriga."

I raised my eyebrow, my head turning to face him.

"What is she the goddess of?"

"Laziness."

I punched him so hard in the shoulder my fist started stinging.

He gripped his stomach, laughing his lungs out, and I pouted.

"This is serious Luke!"

He held up his hands, running a hand through his hair that got sand in it from him rolling around, and he laid back down.

"Ok, ok. Hmmm, defiantly not Artemis's daughter," –rolled my eyes and shook my head- "can't be daughter of Ate, goddess of evil and misfortune. You know something?" I looked at him, urging him to continue silently, "You really are pretty enough to be in the Aphrodite cabin."

I couldn't help but blush a little, thankfully the moon hiding it as I broke eye contact. He thought that? I didn't really think so, again you know I haven't had the best self-confidence raiser in my life, but if he thought so I guess it could possibly have some possibility of being true.

"-but you're not enough of an airhead and I don't think you could handle ten minutes of make-up talk."

I laughed at the last part, it being the complete and utter truth, and I looked back at him as he kept talking.

"So yeah, I guess you don't have many options besides Demeter, Hera, Tyche the goddess of luck, Hecate goddess of magic and a few other things, Nemesis goddess of revenge, Nike goddess of victory, or Athena." He shrugged looking at me, electric blue eyes trained on my face.

Athena's name rang in my eyes, it sounding like a hammer against a gong, and I blinked a few times. What the heck?

I shook my head, earning a confused glance from Luke, but I nearly turned back to the ocean.

"I hope she claims me soon… I'm sick of being in the Hermes cabin."

Luke chuckled softly, the brilliant sun starting to rise in front of us, and he replied softly.

"She will, don't worry. She will soon."

A few hours later, in the pavilion where we eat breakfast, I walked in sleepier then I felt when I first woke up. My back was stiff from laying on the dunes, and I swear there was a crab in my shoe cause something kept crawling around and poking my big toe. I managed to slip back in my cabin before anyone woke up, changing out of my now sea smelling shirt to a white tank and yellow button up shirt which had a soft curve down the neck line and button up right in the middle of the chest. The silk feel fabric was light and airy, and the sleeves were designed to roll up and button in place, making it a nice and light summer shirt. It fit well with my black skinny jeans, my purple converse closing the outfit, and I strolled into the pavilion while trying to stay awake.

I stepped onto the marble, hands shoved in my pockets, and I slumped down on the nearest bench I could find. Which thankfully was the Poseidon table, because if it was like the Ares table… well that could've ended badly.

Trent and Cato were already at the table, Cato on my side and Trent across from him, and I grumbled as I laid my head down against Cato's shoulder, my eyes closing and head hitting his hard shoulder. I groaned, frowning a little, but I didn't move from my spot.

I heard Trent laugh, his voice carrying over to our side of the table.

"You know you're not aloud at our table."

I stuck my tongue out at him, my eyes still closed, and it earned a few laughs from around the table (their dad sitting with them).

"Give me a minute. I don't want to go to my table." I grumbled, burying my face in Cato's lower arm which was trying to eat his cereal. He patted my head and kept eating, not objecting like his brother. I'm pretty sure Cato's my favorite. A man of little words but smart enough to make Albert Einstein second guess himself. Plus I'm pretty sure he's an excellent singer, even if I've never heard him. I just had a wicked hunch I hoped I'd solve one day.

"And why," Percy started, "Don't you want to go to your table?"

I glanced up, looking down at the end of the table. Percy was sitting by himself, eating something that looked a lot like a blue waffle. Smelt like a blue waffle… I'd have to try that some time.

Percy was wearing an orange camp shirt, his hair ruffle and looking like he slept on it, and he smiled tiredly at me, a cup of coffee in his hand. I found it unfair how Chiron still made Percy and Annabeth eat at their parent table even if they were married, but neither of them seemed too upset about it.

I smiled back, sitting up off of his son's arm.

"You ever eat with a table full of Hermes kids?" I challenged, raising an eyebrow and smirking, my bangs falling slightly in my face.

He thought about it for a second, nodding a little after a second, and he replied, "Ok yeah, I see why you don't wanna sit there."

I laughed at his reply and rubbed my eyes, sitting up completely. A few people were looking over at us, a few whispering, Ms. Lillian grumbling and glaring at me, and I rolled my eyes at the goody goods. Why was I the only one who was fine with breaking the rules every once and a while? Does no one else support my rule breaking?

I didn't see his shadow fall over the table until I heard him clear his throat, a hoof clopping behind me on the marble floor. I could just imagine Chiron standing behind me, his arms crossed and his bow staring at me from his shoulder, and I felt myself sigh in defeat. Every time… I always got in trouble. But hey I really shouldn't complain. I don't think self inflicted trouble deserves pity.

I turned around like a snail, inching around with my eyebrows up and a smile on my face, a small nervous chuckle leaving my throat. Exactly like I pictured it, Chiron stood behind me, his beard perfect combed and his eyebrow shot up in question. His horse tail twitched behind him, his legs not standing still, and I smiled even more.

"Hi Chiron." I tried.

"Hermes table."

I stood without question, ignoring Percy's stifled laugh along with the twins, and I slid into an open part of the bench at the Hermes tale. I swear sometimes Chiron just _acts_ strict to be a pain in my butt, that or, I really am the Devil's spawn like Ms. Mendilave keeps saying.

Breakfast came out, everything from pancakes to oatmeal to Portuguese muffins, and everyone starting digging in. I just picked at my food, not really much of a breakfast eater, and I started letting my eyes wander around the pavilion.

A lot of tables were filled, a good amount of kids eating and drinking at each, but then there were others with little to no kids at all. Poseidon's table only had the twins and Percy, the three boys starting a game of table football with a piece of sausage, and I could now see why Annabeth was happy to sit at her own table. Hades' table was empty, it looking creepy and out of place, and a few other tables I couldn't define were next to his. Zeus' table only had Luke, his figure looking just as tired as me, and he caught my eye as I looked around.

He smirked, coffee being the only thing he had on the table, and he gave me the smallest wave that seemed to pass back and forth just between the two of us. I loved those moments, and I gave him a small wave back.

"Hey babe."

Even with my back turned, I felt my skin crawl and teeth clench. When would this guy take a hint!? And no I wasn't talking about Thunder butt at table one.

We all have that one person who gets under our skin, who butts their nose into our lives and becomes a leech, attaching on and NEVER letting go. Yeah, I had one of those people the SECOND day I got to camp. The leech's name it Felix.

Felix, son of Hermes, has this light brown hair that he keeps short and jells up at an almost 90 degree angle. His eyes are a wicked auburn, glimpse of flirtiness and trouble lurking in the what could've been pretty color (if he didn't always look at girls like his play toys). His smile was oddly perfect, his teeth white and straight, and his eyebrows were thin and usually raised up in a suggestive manor. He always wore a tight muscle shirt, trying to show off his abs and arms he had, and he had a caramel colored skin tone that always caught the sun just right.

Yes he's attractive, but unfortunately I can see past the physical features and see how much of a horrible person he is. It's like he's a snake. He draws you in with his charm and words, but the minute you get too close, he'll snap and you'll be poisoned. Thankfully my dad taught me how to be a great snake charmer… well, metaphorically that is.

I turned back to the table, body rigid and stiff, and I stopped a sneer from crossing my lips as I came face to face with Felix. That's what he wanted, a reaction.

His smirk was fueling my anger slowly, his body leaning over the table slightly, and his eyebrow was already in its position. Gods I wanted to punch him so bad. Male attention is good; this male attention is NOT good.

"Hey sweetheart," he flashed me a smooth smile, "How are you this morning?" He tried to get a little closer from across the table, but I backed up.

"Piss off Felix." I practically growled, looking down at my empty plate, "Why can't you just go play with your Aphrodite girls?" I glanced over at the Aphrodite table, and surly enough, a few girls were winking and waving at Felix, and glaring daggers at me. Yay… more friends.

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as Felix nodded towards the table, earning a few squeals with his smile. I looked at my cup and stared at it, praying this one time the camp could let just one little cup of whiskey inside, at least to ease my head ache. Third foster parent when I was twelve wanted to share their hobbies with me, one being drinking, and you can see why I only spent a week in that house.

"No alcohol Gwen." I heard Chiron call out from his head table, stopping my efforts before they even started.

"Dammit." I grumbled, letting my head hit the table, a loud pounding ringing through my ear after the contact. Solid table… right…

I heard Felix chuckle, his voice getting a little quieter as he spoke back to me.

"Aw come on Gwen, they're just teases. You're my real goal. How 'bout you just give in to the attraction and be mine?"

I stood up straight, pushing the table back towards Felix and the other Hermes kids on his side, and I stormed off, my fists clench till the knuckles are white. I heard a few protest from the twins and Chiron, but I shoved them off, my eyes practically seeing red as I walked away from the pavilion. I just needed to cool off and be by myself. That's the only thing that would help and wouldn't end with someone going to the infirmary.

I stopped at the small camp store, paying three and a half dollars for some gas station quality nachos (I'm still not even sure when or why they started selling them, maybe a way for Chiron to stop all the Hermes kids from stealing and bringing junk food. Well, at least make them steal less), and I snuck into the woods.

Yeah sure they were monster filled, but at the moment, I'd vaporize anything in my path. Even without using a sword.

I found the giant pile of rocks they called Zeus's fist, scaling it in no time, and I sat atop it criss-cross, legs tucked in and back leaning against the top boulder. The cool morning air rushed by, the steam from my nachos dancing with it and lifting towards the heavens, and I took my first bite as I felt my heart rate slow. I couldn't let Felix play me like that, that's all he wanted. A big reaction. He was a showman, but I refused to be a piece in his game.

Sitting on Zeus's fist relaxed me, my eyes shutting for a moment and I let a memory of my dad flood my mind.

We were camping up in a place called Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and it was my favorite thing to do with him. Even if was seven when my dad died, he'd take me to Cape Cod every year, so I could remember it pretty well. We'd go to the same camp ground every year, walk or drive to the beach we wanted to go to that day, have bone fires on the beach at night, and just do everything together.

I remembered one year dad and I were at the beach, minding our own business, when a little boy walked up and pushed me over. I started crying (Hey now, I was five at the time) and he just laughed. My dad went papa bear on the boy, not attacking him no, but scolding him and yelling at his dad for him pushing me over, and I swear I've never seen a grown male look so scared.

My dad was a tall man, every tall and burley. He was a highly ranked computer systems analysis, meaning he was extremely smart and could program things easily. When you looked at him though, he looked more like a wrestler than a computer nerd. I got his brown hair, the color almost being identical, and I got the blue from him, and the grey eyes from mom. I loved the mixing of the colors; it reminded me I was both of theirs, and it made me happy. He was the sweetest man I've ever know, and I loved it when he could take me on vacation. It'd be the best time of my life, pretty much every year, but I haven't been there since… the accident.

A soft hoot brought me from my day dream, my eyes opening slowly, and I looked around.

On the tree, about twenty feet away from the base of Zeus's fist, an owl that was an EXACT replica of Strix perched itself, looking at me. The color was a perfect match, its eyes intense and staring straight at me, and I couldn't help but stare at this bird.

It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

It turned its head at me, the eyes glancing down for a moment, and I let my eyes fall where it was looking. My hot container of nachos sat in my lap, and steam still pouring from them, and I reconnected my gaze with the owl.

_Could owls eat nachos? _I asked myself, looking back and forth and forth between the two. Would it be a crime against nature if I gave it one?

Its eyes were challenging me, a hint of amusement present on its features, and I decided to screw those signs that say _Do Not Feed The Animals_.

I was gonna give the owl a nacho.

I dipped a chip in some cheese, the heat making the cold morning a little better, and I held out the chip, making full eye contact with the bird.

It stared at the chip for a moment, its head up right, then it flew. It wings spread and it became the most graceful thing I've ever seen. It swooped down, its wings spread and shimmering in the light, and it gently plucked the chip from my hand, not even getting a drop of cheese on its feathers.

I turned to follow it, wanting to see it eat it… but it was gone.

"What the…?" I questioned, looking around like I was put in a glitch in time, and I blinked a few times. What just happened?

I didn't notice her until I heard her voice, the sound ringing out in the silence.

"You know… I've always had a liking for these things."

I straighten instantly, the voice new to my ear and sounding way too mature for a camper, and I turned slowly so my back wasn't facing the woman.

Scratch that… the _goddess._

I stood to my feet, the forgotten nachos falling to the ground, but I couldn't care as I bowed to the female standing in front of me, my eyes cast down towards her sandals. I knew exactly which goddess she was, the bird a dead give away, and I tried not to show the intimidation in my eyes.

"Rise girl, no need to be so stiff."

I looked up at the goddess, saying her name as our eyes clashed.

"Athena."

She nodded, a small smile springing from her lips as she looks at me.

"Hello Gwen."

Now don't roll your eyes, but I didn't know what else to say, so I went with the first thing in my mind. Yeah usually that's never a good idea, but I was desperate, and extremely surprised.

"How are you?"

Yeah… I know. You don't have to say it.

When she laughed, I relaxed a little, the smirk on her face making me shrug a little. Oh well, I tried.

"I'm guessing you're not here to chat and eat my nachos?" I guessed, hands instinctually sliding in my pockets. I know I was a little too relaxed around a goddess who could blast me to dust, but I just felt calm around her. Weird right? I was skittish around a centaur, but not around a goddess.

She shook her head, nodding her head down towards the ground, and she started flawlessly walking down the side of Zeus's fist with her hands thoughtfully clasped behind her back. I followed the best I could, being human and clumsy, it was a little hard, but I managed a good pace.

"Do you know why I am here than Gwen?" Her intelligent grey eyes studied me, an eyebrow raised in question, and I thought about it. There was an answer I was both fearing and hoping at the same time, and I swallowed my fear and replied a little nervous.

"You're my mom."

It would make total sense. My brilliant father falling in love with the goddess of wisdom, having me as their kid. It'd explain my blue-grey eye color, my irrational fear of spiders, the fact my dad gave me a pet owl for a gift, and how I could be brilliantly smart when I wasn't distracted by ADHD or anything like that. She had to be… or I had just made a totally wrong assumption.

She nodded.

That action alone made a weight lift off of my shoulder and chest, but then the relief was replaced by unhappiness. Why had she waited a week just to show up and be like _Oh yeah like I'm your mom, sorry about not telling you_.

"I bet you're unhappy with my… delayed, claiming."

She's good.

I only nodded. We made it to the bottom on Zeus's fist, and she continued to walking back towards camp. She stood tall as she walked, elegance radiating from her, and I seriously doubted I was related as I strolled, hands in my pockets and shoulders relaxed. We were a funny pair, but I wanted to walk with my mom no madder what people said, I wanted to hear what she was going to say.

She sighed a little, nodding a little.

"I am sorry, Gwen, but I had to delay it. There are… problems arising in Olympus, and I didn't want you to get involved. Robert, your father, was a good man. I know he wouldn't want you in danger, so me not claiming you was one of the ways to protect you." She glanced at me to see if I was following, and I kept my eyes on the path ahead of us but nodded when I needed to.

"You will soon go on a quest for the gods. I cannot tell you much" –she cut me off seeing the questions forming- "but I know soon you will go on one. I just wanted to claim you before you went, wanting the camp to know you're my daughter."

Those words stopped my feet.

We had reached the end of the woods, now open to the camp, and I turned to face my mother. She wanted people to know I was her kid? That never happened, most people didn't want people to know they KNEW me, let alone actually make a connection to me. So here a goddess stood saying she wanted people to know I was her kid, and I swear my knees wanted to become jello and sink to the floor. It took a lot of power not to fall over.

I reconnected our gaze, hers one of confirmation and power while mine was related to a scared/shocked bunny rabbit. I felt a small spark of pride fill me, and I smiled at her. I nodded.

"I'll make you proud mom. I promise."

She laughed quietly, smiling.

"I know you will Gwen. I have one last piece of advice for you."

A few campers had started to see us, a few pointing and getting others, but I ignored them and focus on my mom, which by the way, is extremely hard with ADHD.

"That ring your father gave you?" –I nodded- "It is not just there to comfort you. Wear it and turn the gem inward towards your palm. Push it and… well just see what happens." She smirked, "I will see you soon Gwen. I know you will do well. I always have a plan."

With that, she raised her hand, producing her symbol in a shimmering grey light above my head, then she herself turned into a shimmer of grey, disappearing from sight. I had just been claimed, told I was going on a quest, and been told someone wanted to claim me. I'd consider that a good morning.

A few hours later, I sat on my new bunk, Strix clutched in my hand and the entire room empty.

After my little talk with my mom (my first conversation with a goddess going wayyy better than I ever thought), it caused a huge stir in camp. Chiron had seen the sign, the sign of Athena hanging over my head long enough so he could see it, and he had me moved to the Athena cabin. A few of my siblings were glaring at me, grumbling about me being special and it not being fair, while others welcomed me in happily.

Annabeth was more than happy to welcoming me into the family, seeing now that we were half sisters and all, and the twins were practically jumping up and down with the news. I've now officially begin promoted to 'aunty' even if I'm only a half sister to their mom and I'm the same age as the boys. Yeah… you see what I have you deal with?

I was more than happy to say good bye to Felix, but a little sad to leave the rest of the Hermes cabin. They were sweet kids, even if they tried to steal my stuff.

Luke was impressed; happy I had a mother that was brilliant and a challenge, but I had a feeling he secretly wanted me to be an Aphrodite girl. He would've used me to get closer to the air heads, and I only rolled my eyes at the thought of it.

I now sat in my new room, being the only one in there, and I stared at Strix. My eyes fell on my ring.

_It is not just there to comfort you. Wear it and turn the gem inward towards your palm. Push it and… well just see what happens._

Athena's words chimed in my head. The ring was a spotless silver, a blue gem studding the top, and it hugged my middle finger perfectly when I slipped it on. Was what she said true? Well there was a huge possibility since she was the goddess of wisdom and all, pretty much knowing everything, but I still had my doubts. It wasn't every day I saw a ring turn into a sword, but hey that's just me.

I turned the ring around, the blue stone facing me and shimmering in the sunlight leaking into the cabin. I stared at it, its beauty really trapping me for the first time, and I took a deep breath.

Here goes nothing.

I pushed the blue stone, and I swear to the gods if it wasn't a ring, I would've dropped it and ran for… well my mom.

The silver metal leaked towards my palm, creating a solid shape, and I saw it continue to grow in front of my eyes. The blue stone moved up, splitting into two smaller stones, and they became the eyes of a small owl engraved in the metal. A hilt of a sword started to appear, designs and curves appearing in the almost reflective silver.

A blade started growing from it, the celestial bronze shimmering wickedly, and the owl perched itself right under the blade on the hilt. The style was a Greek xiphos, the shape and fashion, but the silver and bronze mix was mesmerizing. A strong black leather grip was in my palm, a ring still fashioned into my finger even though the original grew into a sword, and I knew it stopped the blade from completely leaving my hand. As long as the ring stayed on my finger, the blade would come back. Way too cool.

It finally stopped moving, taking about ten seconds to actually form, and I stared in awe at my new blade. The owl stared at me from the hilt, its body seeming to move and blink, and I didn't realize it WAS moving until it flew up, around the sword, then down back on its olive tree branch at the base of the blade. It seemed to smile at me, and I knew then why my dad had always kept the ring with a stuffed owl. This blade was one designed for a child of Athena, and it had carvings of her owl, Strix, on it.

The blade was perfect.

I heard a low whistle from the door, making me jump and raise the blade instinctually, looking _so_ menacing from my bunk bed (Sarcasm… learn to recognize it. It'll help you read the rest of my story).

Annabeth leaned against the door, her arms crossed and a smirk on her face, her eyes on my blade. She didn't look jealous, she didn't look like she hated me for getting something from mom, but rather she looked impressed. Like she understood how I was feeling.

She walked in, sitting next to me, and she pulled her baseball cap out of her pocket.

I raised an eyebrow. A baseball hat? Why? Why the heck did she have that?

She could see the confusion on my face and laughed, opening it up and sliding it on.

She disappeared. No I don't mean with a poof of smoke and magic words. I mean one minute she was sitting next to me, then the next the air shimmered and she was gone. Only the indent in my bed proved her to still be there, and I stared at her.

"Gift from mom?" I asked, nodding towards her 'body'.

"Yep." She laughed, taking the hat off and shaking her hair out. She looked a little tired, but really happy. Like camp was her home… the one place she could be herself and have her perfect life. And judging by how all the Jackson acted when we got here, that was true for all of them.

A realization hit me as Annabeth smiled at me, and I couldn't help but smile back as I thought about it. I was happy to have her as a sister, heck I was _overjoyed_. I couldn't have asked for a better mom because she gave me siblings I didn't want to strangle and she gave me a new life I felt like I belonged to. I was finally… happy.

I looked down at my blade, deciding its name, and I spoke without looking at Annabeth.

"Strix. I'll call it by its rightful name… Strix."

I could picture her smiling in approval as she replied, "Perfect."

I touched the eyes of the owl, the orbs following my every move, and as I touched them, they start to glow.

Strix morphed and folded itself back in my ring, the gem turning out and looking normal, as if none of it happened. I stared more, still a little shocked by the fact my jewelry could do more than me on most Saturday mornings.

"Well one thing's for sure," Annabeth spoke with a smile, "Percy's Riptide's got a run for its money."

A laugh broke my lips, her following mine, and we sat there just… laughing.

I was happy, glad I found a home, and I couldn't get that warm buzz out of my head.

If only I had remembered the other thing Athena said… then maybe… my fate wouldn't be such a hard thing to swallow. Maybe… I could have enjoyed my home, just a little longer.

A little longer… before I had to turn my back on it and march straight out into the world I wanted to slip away from.

**A/N: Hey guys, so I'm going to apologize. Before one for the fact Athena might be slightly OOC. I've always pictured her a little nicer to her kids, even if in public she was harsh and powerful. Idk, I just saw her as a little nicer. **

**One for the fact this is kinda a filler and info chapter, and two for the fact it kinda sucks. I just like reread this and I don't want to scrap it nor do I want to completely rewrite it. Well yeah… again sorry. Please review and leave me a note. Good or Bad, I don't care. Peace and thank guys.**


	4. Chapter 4: I get a quest I don't want

**A/N: Chapter 4! For all of you lovely people **** You all are fantastic and I love you all **** Please read and review! I hope this chapter is alright, please tell me what you think! **

Chapter 4: I get a quest I don't want

I've never really been scared of anything (besides spiders). I've been nervous sure, but I don't think I've felt the same amount of terror that I did when I saw Lillian grinning at me from inside the pavilion.

Tonight was the night for capture the flag. The Athena cabin made alliances with Poseidon, Zeus, Apollo, and Hermes while the Ares cabin made an alliance with everyone else. The numbers were partially even, some of the smaller cabin refusing to play this game and just sat on the side lines, but over all this game would be intense. I had only been at camp a week and a half, barley knowing how to fight and defend, and here I was about to face the ugliest, meanest and roughest group of kids I've meet in my life.

So yes, you could say I was terrified.

Annabeth stood tall with one of our brothers I forgot the name of (Hey now, I'm still learning names. I'm special remember?), and she had the silver banner with an owl in the middle. The ugly red banner that faced us had a boar on it, the symbol of Ares. And for some reason, I thought the symbol fit the cabin perfectly. Aggressive, whiny, smelly, and just pains in the butt in general.

Chiron's hoof pounded on the ground after we all strapped on armor, weapons ready for fighting, and he glanced over all of us. He had explained the rules a little earlier, my inner fighter depressed that I couldn't hurt Lillian… at all, and we waited for him to speak.

"Let the games begin!"

My heart jumped into my throat, did a summer Sault, and lodged itself into my wind pipe so I felt like I couldn't breathe. Here we go… the games were beginning. I had to put my week and a half of training to use, and even if I couldn't die, I had this gnawing feeling like something was going to go bad. Now don't get me wrong, but usually when I have those feelings, I turn away from the danger and stop the feeling. So the fact I was charging into those feelings, sword and shield ready to fight, I wasn't exactly the most confident person ever.

I walked with the twins behind me and Luke to my left. He was dressed in battle armor himself, his right hand gripping his dreaded (at least _I_ thought it was dreaded) golden spear and his left hand clenched a shinny shield. His armor fit him well, trimming his body up and making him look bigger, and I could only smirk as he had the smallest smile cross his lips. He loved being in armor, it made him feel more manly. The gods only know how much more praise his ego needed.

Annabeth and Percy took the lead, the two already speaking in low voice and intentionality, and they discussed strategy. I was at the point where I'd do anything someone told me to do, mainly cause I had no idea what I was doing, but also because I didn't want to get in the way. I've gotten in the way plenty of times before in the past, most of those times ending with me being hurt, and I defiantly didn't want to get in the way when swords were involved. I mean… who does?

I felt something bump my shoulder, and I turned and glanced at Luke. His smirk had spread as he watched me think to myself, and he twirled his spear as he looked down at me.

"You ready Gweny? I bet you're gonna love this." He chuckled, walking with more of a spring in his step. Was capture the flag really that great?

I could only roll my eyes and shake my head, shifting my awkward armor.

"Yes Luke because I really do enjoy having swords swung at me and my life being put in danger."

He snickered at my sarcasm and patted my shoulder, shifting my armor again.

Did I mention I'm not the biggest girl ever? I'm not tiny or anything, but I don't have the body of a warrior either. In turn, that meant the armor picked out for me was big on me and made me look tiny. After looking at some of the other girls in their armor, I started questioning less if the armor was big or if I was just naturally awkward. The later was looking more realistic.

We reached the clearing near Zeus' fist and everything grew serious. The group circled around Percy and Annabeth, not one person daring to question their authority, and Annabeth stepped forward to rattle off duties.

"Alright, the offense group will be the Athena, Apollo, and Zeus campers. The defense group will be the Poseidon and Hermes campers," that earned a groan from Percy which Annabeth answered with a slap to his gut without breaking concentration, "-no exceptions. We'll need both a boarder watch and flag watch. With offense, we'll need at least three groups going in, one from the right, one from the left, and one towards the center. The ones in the center will be more like the bait for the opposing team, so if you get in the middle group, be ready to fight. Alright, let's go!"

Our group let out a loud cheer and moved to get ready. The flag was put at the top of the fist, and the defense was setting up nicely. My eyes moved around and took in everything as I unconsciously followed Luke to where the offence was going.

I tend to do that with my ADHD. I just follow a person I know as I look around and take in my surroundings. There was this one time the Jacksons took me to Washington D.C. and we were on the coolest tour ever of all the Smithsonian. Well… in one of them, I was unconsciously following the twins around while I looked at everything, and let me tell you, I have never seen a group of men more shocked than the group in that bathroom. The twins wouldn't let that go for _months_.

Anyway, we continued to the group and I somehow was put in the right side group. Granit, I was thanking the gods I hadn't been put in the middle, but I still was nervous about being offense in general. I've been given those swimming noodles in those pools and told we were going to spar… and well I'm more of an armadillo than a fighter.

Annabeth had given me a reassuring nodding, moving off with the middle group to go forward first, and I could only nod back. I fidgeted with my ring on my finger as our group moved forward, and I started taking in the people around me.

Luke had taken to my group by quiet order of Annabeth to make sure no one hurt me, seeing as I don't have the best people on my bad side, and he walked cautiously by my side. A few campers were spread here or there, some going a head while others stayed behind, but there was really only one more girl who caught my attention.

She strolled off to Luke's left, a smirk on her face and hands in her pockets. She wore only a body hugging chest plate and upper legs guard, the rest of her outfit being a regular t-shirt and skinny jeans. She had a large bow slung over her shoulder and her quiver strapped between her shoulder blades. The bow was large and black on the outside wood. The inside was a golden lining and the string was perfectly taught. She walked with the oddest sense of calmness, as if we were strolling through Disney World instead of towards a huge fight.

Luke said her name was Morgan and she was a daughter of Apollo. He also said she ran away from home when she was seven and lived on her own since then, coming to camp when she was sixteen. She was nineteen now, still somehow looking seventeen like us, and I couldn't help but envy her a bit. Ran away from home and was on her own for nine years? If I could've gotten that chance like she did, I would've eaten all of Ms. Mendilave's spiders just to go. And that's saying _a lot_.

"Luke," Morgan said, looking towards Zeus' kid, "you better watch out for our dearest Ms. Lillian. She'll wanna get her meaty hands on Gwen there ASAP."

That was the other thing I liked about Morgan. She hated Lillian, and I mean _hated_. One time, the Apollo chick even broken Lillian's nose because the ugly pig made a smart remark towards her parentage. Of course Morgan had dish duty and clean up for three weeks, but it would be totally worth it just to see Lillian's shocked face that some had actually had hurt her. What? I'm not mean, I'm realistic. If you were in our position you'd get a tad hostile as well… maybe.

Luke shook his head and smirked between us, commenting, "Oh come now Robin Hood,"-so unoriginal nickname, and he made fun of me earlier!- "you know we can take Lillian and her crew. Hades, just give me the chance and I'll take her down myself."

As if speaking too soon, an arrow flew through the air and crashed against the front of Luke's armor. It hit hard, making Luke grunt a bit, but it hit him then fell off. They were here.

"Offense, attack!" Luke yelled, the other campers running towards the attackers with weapons charged.

I turn and formed Strix, the blade growing in my hand, and I felt my heart beat sky rocket with adrenaline as I ran towards their defense. This was the first legit fight I've been in before, and it scared the shit outta me. Was I gonna suck? Would I be good? Was my inner armadillo going to have an appearance and make me become a shish kabob with someone's spear? I prayed the last option wouldn't happen, but knowing my luck, it was still a possibility.

The first guy that came at me was big, like Ford truck big. His helmet made his head look like a packed sausage and his arms were like tree trunks. I was honestly questioning Chiron's judgment about letting a guy of this size in a game with special kids like me, but I had no time to think about that while the truck was running toward me with the need for violence in his eyes. Yeah… if that doesn't scare you, give him around two more years of fighting experience and a blood thirst. Good luck.

I raised my blade, body tensing, and I felt all the blood freeze in my body. I couldn't do this. I was gonna die!

"Hey!"

A voice called off to my left, and my head snapped in its direction.

Luke was swinging his spear like a maniac, taking two people out without even looking at them. His blue eyes were trained on me and a look of worry grazed his face. He kicked a skinny guy in the gut, causing him to grunt and fly backwards, then Luke turned and looked at me.

"Relax! You can do this! Now turn around and don't think, just act!"

His words rang in my brain like a giant gong and I let my eyes fall back onto my truck-like opponent. I could do this. I could do this. I could _do_ this.

I shut my eyes for a brief second as I took in a deep breath, and then I snapped my eyes open, staring at the guy. It was on like Donkey Kong.

Everything slowed down, my breathing pacing in my ears while my heart beat matched it, and I acted exactly how I thought I should.

Truck, I've decided that was his name, stepped forward, blade aiming to puncture my gut, and I shifted. I side stepped, left hand turning and swinging up, my blade parrying his with a loud clang. He stumbled a bit, guard down, and I took the opportunity to attack first. The next few moments came in picture like clips to me, and I honestly thought I was watching a slide show of how to fight someone, not actually doing it. Shield to the gut, he stumbles back. Butt of sword in side of helmet, he falls. He kicks legs out, back hits the ground. His sword grazes your arm, ignore slight sting and kick up. Foot contacts shoulder, grunt is heard and he moves back. Swing of sword smashing into helmet and he falls for the last time, no blood drawn but opponent down.

I took a step back, breath a little labored and arm stinging a tad. I looked around to see Luke and Morgan staring at me, Luke's jaw on the floor and Morgan's eyebrows in the air. Was it really that good? I looked at Truck and saw he wasn't getting up, the dizziness clear in his eyes. Hot damn… I actually did it.

I smirk at the pair, a rush of adrenaline and confidence flooding me, and I spoke simply, "You two coming? We have a game to win."

Morgan blinked and returned the smirk, rubbing Luke's helmet before she followed me, her bow in hand.

"Come on Lukington, the Lady has spoken."

We took off in a run, Luke leading after he wore off the shock, and I took in our surrounding as I ran. Campers were everywhere. We were on the outside of the main battle, my brain subconsciously thanking the gods I wasn't in _that_ mess, and my eyes raked over every detail, fascinated by the game. People were amazing. They fought with power, strength, and speed. The song Kung Fu Fighting came into my head, and I laughed at the idea. Yeah sure it was amazingly scary and made me want to run if they even came my way, but the other side of me wanted to join in and kick some tail. I mean who wouldn't?

We got to this opening, a clear and flat place, and I could see the red, ugly flag. Granit, there were a ton of people in the way with pointy swords and ugly expressions, but my brain found them irrelevant… for the moment.

"Gwen!"

The three of us turned at the sound of my name. Annabeth was in sword lock with a bull shaped boy, and her wicked grey eyes were on me, fierce and fiery. Her blonde hair was falling out of its ponytail, dirt and ash smudging her face, but other than that she looked perfectly fine.

Her words were urgent, her attention a little preoccupied, but they were clear none the less, "Get that flag and bring it home."

Her words sparked a fire in me and I couldn't help but feel a bit of pride run through me. She wanted me to get it and she knew I could do it. She had faith in me. And when a bad ass chick who's saved the world, dealt with boys like the twins, and can still look twenty when she's not has faith in you, you feel like you can do anything.

I turned back to Luke and Morgan, checking their responses. Luke was smiling while Morgan's eyes were already on the people near the flag.

She touched her ears quickly, fixing something in them I couldn't see, and she spoke quickly before taking off, "Luke and I will handle as many as we can. You're focus, Pixie Stick, is on that flag. Grab it, then run faster than Forest Gump in his own movie."

The archer took off, firing arrow after arrow with perfect knocking-out potential.

I turned to Luke, who hadn't left. "Did she just call me Pixie Stick?"

"Hey, I learned to stop questioning her nicknames after she went into a twenty minute explanation of my nickname Lukington… don't ask, it makes your head spin. Go get um kid." He joked, smiling as he turned and joined Morgan, the two fighting in sync. I had a chance. I could make it.

I took off towards the flag, blood bumping in my ears like extreme subwoofers, and I was feet away. Steps away. Inches away. Centimeters away. Just one step.

The blade knocked me out from under my feet and made a tearing noise as it cut through my pants and no doubt my legs. My shoulder skid across the ground and a grunt tore from my throat as my back slammed into the nearest tree. Well that was unexpected. My whole body was dizzy and screaming in pain, but I looked towards the flag and struggled to my feet none the less. I wasn't going to give up that easily. I had not fought a truck, gained faith from someone, and been called Pixie Stick just to lose.

"Well well, I knew they'd send you here."

Lillian.

Her armor was dirty and abused, glinting in one or two spots, and I could tell the 'no maiming' rule never applied to her. Her big sword swung in her right hand, most likely my blood being the red liquid clinging to the bronze, and her nasty grin was looking at me with a nauseating satisfaction. Great, here we go.

I had somehow managed to avoid Lillian the entire game, and now her she was. She was guarding the red flag with such a force I understood then why it hadn't been taken yet. People were terrified of her and those who weren't were busy with other things. It was the only thing in the way of the flag. She was the only thing that needed to be in the way. Only a complete idiot would mess with her and try to get the flag. Guess what that made me.

"What you gonna do, shrimp? You think you'll take the flag and win?" She let out an almost cackle as she shook her head at me. Maybe she was a witch… or just seriously awful. Both would work, you can choose which you believe.

Her cockiness sparked something more in me and I stood taller, ignoring the hot liquid moving over my knee caps. Was that feeling suppose to happen?

My hands gripped Strix while they shook a tad, adrenaline pumping all over me. It was a hot fire, a new feeling I had never felt before, and it was the greatest feeling ever.

"Let me say this, Pig Face," I explained, calmly walking closer, "I'm not only going to take the flag. I'm going to take it, kick your butt, rub in the victory, and pour as much figurative salt in your wounds as I can." My blade collided with hers, my shield slamming into her hand at the connection.

She let out a bellowing, almost animalistic, roar as she drew back, and I stuck again. Parry, slash, swipe, parry. It was like a dance routine, and I was leading. My body twirled and worked in a constant flow, one step following another, and miraculously my body knew what to do, even without my brain's help. See? It is good just to act and not think… most the time.

Another sting brought me down from the high as Lillian nicked my slightly exposed shoulder. I grit my teeth and nearly growled. I was done with this, done with her, done with pain. I just wanted to win, and I was willing to give my all to win.

My eyes locked on one small detail I would've missed if I didn't have the attention span to a squirrel. Ms. Robin Hood herself was aiming at us, a smirk on her face and an arrow about to fire. She wasn't aiming for me, I knew that, but Lillian was right in front of me, so I did the natural thing when one sees an arrow pointed straight at their head. I ducked.

The arrow flew into Lillian's helmet with a loud clunk, it hitting the side in order to disorient her. It worked. The giant girl turned around, balance off with her body tilted, and I delivered the last blow. My sword batted her knees, my shield following her down and helping with the hit to the dirt, and the wind left her as the quarrel was over. I did it. I managed to stop Lillian.

I stood up tall and reached for the flag, my paling fingers curling around the cool metal and I lifted it from its place. It shimmered as I moved it, the sunlight dancing over the red color, and I admired the look of it as slight relief flooded in me. I just had to get it back to the Athena side. Piece of cake?

An odd sense of silence flooded me and I looked up, almost peeing my pants when I noticed every single eye was on me. Everyone had stopped moving mid swing, mid block and mid run to look at me holding the flag. Standing still. Like a total idiot.

The shock froze me for about three seconds, eyes still on me, when I did the best idea ever came to me.

Run.

I took off, battle cries following me, and I didn't look back. Not even for a second. Strix slunk back into a ring and I gripped the flag so tightly I thought I was going to break it in half. I was being chased by more than half the camp and you expected me _not_ to be scared? You all ask way too much of me.

My feet flew over the forest ground and weaved in between trees. My heart slammed into my ear drums and my breath was so labored I didn't even remember how to breathe properly. Arrows whizzed by my ears. Spears barely missed my arms. I was the number one target and I was getting hunted… almost literally.

A two pairs of feet was suddenly on either side of me, and I nearly panicked when I heard them talking to each other.

"I didn't know she could run this fast!" Luke exclaimed, his breath nearly as heavy as mine.

Morgan laughed, running a tad faster than us.

"There are a lot of things you don't know Luke!" she teased, aiming as arrow and clearing the path as she ran, not losing her grace.

Luke swung and parried anyone who tried to cause me to stumble or fall, and I focus on running. Just running. Thank gods it was just one thing; who knows what would've happened if I had to focus on two things.

The small river came into view and I jumped it, tripping over the furthest bank as I scrambled to get on our side. I did it! I freaking made it, meaning I won the game!

Naturally you'd think I cheered, rubbed it in to the losing team, and danced around like all other victors. Nope. I dropped the flag, hit the ground hard, curled into a ball and felt my entire body shut down as all the adrenaline dripped from me and soaked into the ground. I was in pain, exhausted, and so freaking shaky I swear there was an earth quake. Since I had stopped running and fighting, I could _see_ the energy drain from my body and I watched the blood leak from the deep cuts Lillian gave me on my upper legs. It pooled slightly in front of me at it shone wickedly with the hot sun over head. I was losing blood, and fast.

"Gwen? Gwen!"

A voice called out to me but I couldn't focus on it, it was growing fainter and fainter, but I wasn't fainting. No it was a different feeling. I had fainted enough around the twins with all the dares they gave me that I was an expert on what fainting felt like. But this… this wasn't fainting. My eyes were stuck on the small pool of my own blood. It shimmered one last time than in that single instant, everything changed.

_I was standing straight up, legs healed and body perfectly fine. I was foggy, like a ghost or an apparition, and I glanced around in total confusion on how the heck I got there._

_Short, dark walls surrounded me in a very spacious cage. The bars were old and rusted, the ones on the back walls covered in chains and blood which I guessed wasn't prop decoration. Dirt from like an arena floor covered the ground and it had foot prints, hand prints, and blood spots in it. Some people were huddled in a corner and one or two others clung to the bars, hoping to get out. Where was I?_

_Everyone was wearing trash clothing, looking raggedy and tired. There were giant cages similar to the one I was in next to and around mine, and the people in those looked the same. Trapped, scared, hopeless, and broken. What was going on?_

_Suddenly, the sound of unlocking a lock and the swing of a door filled the air, causing my head to whip towards the noise. Two men, both dressed in traditional black Greek togas, stepped in the room. One was huge, his head bald and face mean. He had scars all over his face and bulging muscles. He meant business, and I thanked the gods I was a ghost and not actually there. The man with him, who looked more professional, was smaller and looked more like a lawyer than a wrestler. Her held his hands behind his back as the gorilla walked in the cage, searching around. They were looking for someone… but who?_

_The big man's eyes fell to one of the corners and he smiled a crooked grin, his feet stomping as he moved over to the corner. I could tell there was at least one shadow huddled there, and they were his intended target. _

_His meaty hand reached out and grabbed the shadow, it letting out a squeal, and I saw it was a woman when he practically drug her into the light. She looked exhausted. Her deep brown eyes had bags under them and her body was hanging limp. She had cuts and scratches on her tan colored skin, hinting at the fact she was forced to do physical labor. She was just… broken. Then sight of her made my face twist in pity and fear for what the big man would do to her. _

_Tears streamed down her face , the streams clear against the dirt on her face, and she was whispering words of a fight while trying to squirm free. There was no way she was older than mid twenties, but she looked so much older with lines of worry and stress. Her eyes kept flickering back to the corner she came from, panic flooding her eyes as she tried not to let them catch her watching it, and I turned to glance where she looked. _

_The gasp left my throat, my eyes hitting the one thing I didn't expect to see in a place like this. _

_A little boy, skin tan and hair blonde, was huddle up in the corner as he silently whimpered, watching the man take who I assumed was his mother away. The most shocking thing about him, besides the maturity in his expression, was the fact his eyes were not normal colors. The iris of one looked like lava, the area where the color should be flaming with oranges and reds and even blacks, the deadly combination all surrounding glowing yellow pupil. It was beautiful and enticing, as well as scary and unnatural. His other eye was the same warm, but tired brown of the woman's . He stayed hidden well, his eyes just barely glowing in the dark, and his own tears fell as his mother was dragged away._

_I turned back to the woman, eyes glued to her. The men were about to leave, deactivating something attached to her wrist, and leaving. I thought I'd follow them or something more, but instead, the strangest thing happened. _

_The woman turned her head, her eyes making direct contact with mine, and I knew she could tell I was there. Her face pleaded to me, her tears stopping, and she looked at me like her last hope. I might as well of been… _

"_Save him."_

_Her words rang in my ears, me being the only one who actually heard them, neither of the guards noticing, then she was gone. The little boy stayed in the corner, his miss matched eyes brimming with tears, and he slunk away in the dark as the vision started to fade. _

_Save him. _

My eye sight returned in a quick snap, and I jerked up from the lying position I was in. Wait… lying? Since when was I lying down? Last thing I remembered was looking at my blood and fading out… going to that awful place…

_Save him._

"Gwen! You're awake."

My head spun from the quick movement of sitting up, and I fell back onto the bed. Yeah sitting up that fast was a bad idea, but I needed to tell someone about this. Plus, where the hell was I?

The room I was in was white, walls and ceilings the same. There were a few cots on my left and right, one or two holding people, and there was an overall hospital feel of the place. I must have been taken to the infirmary after I passed out. That was the only thing that made sense. That or I had the magic ability to walk to the nearest hospital while my brain is in a completely different location. Ya know, if that's possible.

I was finally able to sit up, head spinning only slightly, and I glanced around. There were actually people near me, and a small smile broke my lips when I saw them.

The twins sat on my left, both looking extremely worried. Cato still had his capture the flag armor on, specks of dirt and blood on his face and arms, and Trent sat next to him, dressed the same. Leaning back against the farthest wall, Morgan had her arms crossed and foot against the wall, slightly relief hidden behind her 'I knew you were fine' smirk. She was dressed in regular camp clothing, but she looked exhausted from the game none the less.

Finally, Luke sat on my right, right next to the cot. His armor was off but his under clothes weren't changed, leaving him in a white tank top and worn jeans. You could tell he had run his fingers through his hair multiple times, it being messed up and much more back than he usually kept it. He had a smile of relief on his face that hid traces of worry. Seeing him there made me smile, the thought of him caring about me leaving a warm sensation in my gut, but I quickly glanced away at the others.

"Hi guys." I joked tiredly, a weak smile crossing my face. Sure I was hurt, groggy and scared out of my mind of what the heck I just saw, but I found it extremely amusing that they were so worried about me. I mean, did they know me?

Smiles broke out on the twin's faces, a smirk and eye roll came from Morgan, and a slight chuckle left Luke. Yep, I was back.

"Well, look who's all smiles and jokes. Welcome back Hot Shot." Morgan practically congratulated me, "How're the legs holding up?"

I looked down at my legs, biting back a groan.

Both of my thighs were wrapped in bandages, a slight red tint on both of the white gaze wrapping. There was slight bruising around the wounds and also on my arms, but other than that I was fine. It didn't hurt too bad.

"I'll live," I decided, smiling weakly, "As long as Lillian gets heat for it."

Luke smirked, nodding, "Oh yeah. Don't worry. Our leading horseman gave her Hades and chores for two months. Congrats, you now have a number one enemy."

I sighed, smiling a bit at the thought that Lillian would have chores for two months. Sure she hated me and wanted to skin me alive, but she could ponder my death while she scrubbed toilets and washed dishes.

Morgan laughed along with the twins, she moving towards the door, "Speaking of horses, Chiron needed to talk to you. I'll go fetch him." She touched her ear again, and before she left I grew curious.

"Morgan?"

"Yes?"

I paused for a moment, thinking about the question, finally wondering, "What's in your ear?"

She smiled, glancing at the twins before taking out a small ear bud and throwing it my way. I caught it, it looking like a small, detached ear bud, and I grew confused. What the heck was this?

I threw it back as she explained, "Wireless headphones. You didn't think I could stay focused that long on my own, did you?" She slid the head phone back in, smirking as she got Chiron. Advantage of being a child of Apollo, she had a way to be focused. Man I'd have to try that sometime.

The hooves clopped lightly on the wooden floor and Chiron's face came in through the door. He looked a bit older, tiredness and worry flooding his eyes, and his tail twitched nervously as he glanced around the room. I had never seen him like this… even if I only knew him for a week. The look on his face looked out of place, yet like an expression he'd used before. And knowing the heroes he's trained and the things he's faced, I could imagine him using that look to others.

"Can I speak to Ms. Clayborn alone please?" Chiron requested, glanced from face to face. He meant business, and we could all feel that.

They left one by one, each glancing back at me as the hoof clops got closer to my bed. He stopped right next to me. I didn't look at him. I left my eyes on the door, it being much more interesting than the centaur eyes burning into the side of my head. Yeah, you know that feeling when someone is watching you and you just _know_ they are even when you aren't looking at them? Not a good feeling… in any situation.

"Gwen," I looked up at him, his words comforting and smooth, "Tell me what you saw."

A split hint of panic jolted through my body, the automatic reaction to be lie and question him, but I knew it was no use. I didn't know if it was the hooves, beard, or thousand year old eyes, but I couldn't lie to the man.

I hesitated before slowly explaining.

"There was… a room. This weird dark, cage-like place. It was dark and awful, full of rust and some blood. People were there, almost like they were stuck there, as like prisoners or something. They were so… so hopeless. There were these two men, they looked in charge. They walked into the giant cage like thing and grabbed this one woman. They,"-I paused, voice shaky- "they dragged her out, taking her somewhere. I don't know where. Then there was… there was…"

I stopped. My eyes were on the wall, the little boy's one eyes burning in my brain. He was alone, and hopeless. I had to save him. I had to help that woman. I had to-

"Gwen… what was it? Please tell me. You can trust me." Chiron comforted me, his hand finding my shoulder.

I continued eyes on the wall like I could relook at the boy.

"A boy, young. He looked scared but he was the woman's son. He had her brown eye… and I mean eye. His other eye was this hot, lava looking eye that was so unnatural… yet special. The last thing that happened was the woman looked me in the eye, yes me, and told me to save him. To save him. There has to be something up this that boy. I just know it, I-"

"You all can come in now." Chiron cut me off, arms crossed and body turning to the door. Someone was there? Who would've been there while Chiron and I were talking?

Percy, Annabeth, and my muddily crew of friends shuffled in like kids who got in trouble with the principle. Figures, I always knew they couldn't stay out of the loop.

"Chiron, this is serious." Annabeth jumped in before he could say anything, her grey eyes shifting between Percy and Chiron, "This could be a serious quest."

"She's right." Percy.

"We agree." Trent.

"We have to do something or the kid'll be hurt." Luke.

"We need to go kick some tail so that little kid will be safe." Morgan.

"Can I finish?" Me.

All eyes went to me, voices stopping from their low roar, and I lowered my slightly raised hand. Yes I still raised my hand to get attention… it works doesn't it?

"We don't even know who or, in a more realistic way, _what_ this kid is. He could be bad. He could be dangerous. Why would this woman want me to save him?" I questioned.

I had a point. This kid could be a trap for whoever went to go get him. He could hurt people and he could just be the one thing that could take down tons of demi-gods. Could we really trust this? Now, I'm usually not skeptical, but the thought of this being the quest my mother mentioned did not make me feel better. Travel to a dark, cage-like prison and save some kid we didn't even know, bring him back, and stop some evil forces? Not my ideal image of a fun time.

"She's correct."

Chiron stroked his beard, mind deep in thought, his words clear and thoughtful, "We must approach this how we would any other quest. If this is a quest, as it seems to be, then the oracle will have a prophecy. We must go check. If there is a prophecy, then we shall move ahead after it is heard. We will go at once."

Do you ever have a moment in your life when everyone looks at you and you know they want you to do something? Yeah, I just had one. Everyone in the room turned to me, every eye landing on me, and it caused my heart to jump and shrivel up into a little pile of scared dust.

"What?"

I just had to tell them about my vision. I just _haaaaad_ to. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be standing outside a cave away from the camp, scared out of my mind for no reason at all. Yep, I just had to tell them.

Percy and Annabeth told me the oracle, a woman named Rachel, was a lot better than the last oracle who was a dried up mummy, but it still scarred me a bit. What was she going to say, how was she going to be?

I couldn't worry about it too much, my pride being hurt the longer I stood there, and I walked through the curtains that covered the cave, entering.

The last thing I expected was a cave that looked like a home… a person's home. Did Rachel actually live here?

"Ah there you are!" I turned, eyes landing on a red-head the age of Percy and Annabeth who was smiling knowingly at me, "I was wondering what all the babble was going on in my head."

She looked… normal. The oracle Rachel Dare looked like a normal human being. No I didn't expect a weird person or a scary ghost, but the fact she was actually kind of normal shocked me a bit.

She was dressed in a white tank top and artist jeans, a purple robe slung over her shoulders and a paint brush in her hands. Her frizzy orange hair was back in a ponytail and a wide smile was spread on her face. She looked more like an art teacher than the Oracle of Delphi, but hey, things aren't always as them seemed.

She strolled up to me, slid her paint brush in her back pocket, and held out her hand, still smiling, "Rachel Dare, Oracle of Delphi, and you are?"

I shook her hand, "Gwen Clayborn. So you have a prophecy? Why didn't you tell Chiron sooner?"

She took a seat, patting the spot next to her with a slight shrug, "Not sure, I just had a feeling you'd show up. You ready to get this going?" She held out her hands, looking at me. Was she serious? It was that easy?

I sat down, taking her hands carefully, and I watched skeptically. Was this seriously happening?

For a moment, she sat still, eyes on the carpet, then her eyes started glowing green. Naturally, I dropped her hands, but she continued none the less. She seemed in a trance, her eyes glowing and body stiff. At first I thought I broke her, that happening once when I played a game of ping pong with an old man at a senor home, but then she started to speak. And that was even scarier than her eyes. Her voice tripled, maybe even quadrupled over, and she spoke to me.

_Six will go, North-East their way_

_The child of death, the one in the cold_

_Twins and vanity, music kingly owl will play_

_Down in the depths with no cards to fold_

_Struggle and fight, oaths to make_

_Bows will shine with alliances formed_

_Save the one, lose who knows what's at stake _

_Success and failure both being performed_

Rachel's eyes stopped glowing but her body stayed rigid, focus on me. Success and failure, lose, struggle and fight; the words rang in my brain and made me slightly nauseous. They weren't the worst words ever, but they weren't the most reassuring. I had a prophecy, I had a quest, and I even had a way to go. All I had to do left was swallow my fear, cry a little bit, throw together a crew of six people, and tough it out. Easy right?

I was back at the Big House in no time, sitting at a cards table, watching Chiron and Mr. D (who by the way thinks I'm a Miss Grace Carlton) playing some card game I was unaware of. I wanted to tell the others also, but I felt like telling Chiron first would've been best. He would've appreciated it and helped me the most. I needed to figure this out.

"Well, this is quite interesting." He acknowledged, pondering it over the cards, "Well at least we know that you will head North-East, that's a start. The boy, the child, must be the child of Death the prophecy mentions."

"Hades maybe?" I jumped in.

"Possible, but we can't be sure. It speaks of the dungeons you saw, so we know you will need to go there, but who? That is the big question."

I agreed with him on that one. I thought about it very hard about who should go, and I had a base of who I thought would go.

"Well, I've been thinking about who. Obviously twins would be Trent and Cato. With music, I was thinking a kid of Apollo, Morgan most likely. Kingly, the only god that fits with that is Zeus and Luke would work with that, and I would be the owl. Makes sense… right?" A small smile crossed my face as I looked at him, knowing he'd see through my plan. Yes, all of them were my friends, but they worked… right?

Chiron smiled at me, shaking his head.

"You do have a point, Gwen, but you're missing something. That's five people… you're missing one person. Something with vanity, and I have a very good feeling you know who should go on the quest." His up eyebrow and smirk made me think. Who would be the one on the quest? Who would-

Oh no way.

"You've got to be joking?" I begged looking at him.

He crossed his arms and sat back, relooking at his cards.

"Go tell everyone on the quest to get ready. You will start making your way towards the boy in the morning. And Gwen?" He called as I started to leave, making me look back, "Be nice to the vain one."

I rolled my eyes and sighed, heading to the Athena cabin. This was going to be a _long_ quest.

**A/N: And that'll do it! Chapter 4. I totally spaced on what Rachel's place looked like, so I improvised! I made her happier and more exceptive to the oracle job since she's older. Tell me what you think! Who do you think the boy's dad is? Hades, or someone else? I know… and I know you WANT to know :P R and R! If you have any questions, I'll answer them **** And if this sucks, I do apologize lol **


	5. WARNING TO ALL READER!

**ATTENTION EVERYONE!**

**Hi, so I am aware this chapter is not real, it's not real for a reason**

**I know this sounds selfish and all, but I need at least ONE review on this story. I feel absolutely unmotivated on this and I am about to give up on it. I love it I do… but I'm about to just take it off of Fanfiction and keep it to myself. Can at least one person review this? Then I'll know at least ONE person is reading this. Cause I don't want to write a story if no one is going to read it. **

**Thanks a bunch**

**Ferrywings**


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